Another Side, Another Story
by PrismRain13
Summary: Riku's side of the Kingdom Hearts story. prequel to "Reconnected". When Riku starts working for Maleficent and then meets a girl in Traverse Town, how will his life change? and what about when Ansem posseses him? And how will he cope with believing his best friend betrayed him? Riku X OC
1. Hollow Bastion

**PrismRain13: Well, I just thought that this was a pretty good idea. Yeah, I know I should be updating some of my other stories, but on one of them I have such a huge amount of writer's block, it's insane!**

**Riku: Glad to know you like me just as much as Sora, Roxas and Ven.**

**PrismRain13: Yep! Now, Riku the disclaimer, please?**

**Riku: PrismRain13 is making no money off this or any of her other stories. Kingdom Hearts and everything related belongs to Disney and/or Square Enix.**

_**Chapter 1: Hollow Bastion**_

_There is always more than one side to every story. Everyone knows his, but mine hasn't been told. More than what was seen happened; and I want to tell you my story..._

Where he was now, he had no idea. It was cold, and the sound of waterfalls could be heard. A fifteen-year-old silver-haired boy was lying on the ground, surrounded by upwards-rising waterfalls, and floating pieces of tiled ground. He had been though an intense amount of darkness, considering his island home had just disappeared. Riku tiredly opened his aqua eyes, and observed the unfamiliar surroundings. He unsteadily pushed himself up to his feet.

"Where am I...?" Riku whispered. He anxiously looked around the space, only to find himself alone, "Sora! Kairi!" He called, desperately hoping that one of his friends was there to answer him. No one did. He didn't know what had happened to them, all he knew right now was pain and worry. What had even come over him? Riku suddenly had the feeling that he was being watched. The island boy turned, only to find no one.

"Oh my, have the heartless taken another world?" a cold, powerful, female voice echoed through the world. Riku looked around the space again, but still found no one.

"Who's there?" Riku demanded. Just then, emerald green flames appeared in front of him. And from them, appeared a woman. She was tall, elegant with green-tinted skin dressed in black robes, holding a long staff and had a black raven on her shoulder and horns on her head. "Who are you?" Riku asked.

"Why, I am Maleficent, ruler of this world. And who might you be?" the woman asked calmly as she moved towards Riku.

"My name's Riku," he told her, "Where am I?"

"This is Hollow Bastion,"

"I'm in another world?" Riku questioned. Maleficent nodded and smiled while Riku tried to take this all in. There was a sudden cold burst of wind, causing Riku to shiver in his sleeveless shirt.

"Oh, you poor thing," Maleficent cooned as she wrapped her free arm around Riku's shoulders, trying to provide him with warmth from her robes, "You must be exhausted. Why don't you come with me?" Riku nodded as Maleficent smiled and the green flames engulfed them.

~*KH*~

The next moment Riku opened his eyes, they were standing in the middle of a dark chapel. Torches with green flames lined the wall and in the center of the room was a table with five strange people around it. The first was a blue-skinned man in dark robes that turned to mist at the hem and had blue flames for hair. The second was a thin Arabian man holding a golden snake staff and wearing a turban. The third was an overweight purple-skinned woman with black tentacles instead of feet and had short grey hair and a seashell locket around her neck. Another was a pirate dressed in red with a hook instead of his left hand. The last was a large creature looked like he was made out of fabric. As soon as Maleficent and Riku had gotten near them, they all turned to look at them. And all looked suspiciously at Riku.

"Hey, glad you decided to show up," The blue-skinned man said, "Who's this?" he asked, turning to Riku.

"This is Riku," Maleficent introduced him to the group; "He appeared just moments ago at the rising falls. I can only assume that the heartless have foolishly taken his world."

"The heartless?" Riku asked.

"The black shadows that attacked you before your home disappeared," Maleficent explained, "We have control over a great variety of them. But, sadly the few that disobey our commands, run around consuming worlds and the hearts of many people."

"You mean, they kill people? Does that mean that my friends are..."

"There is a chance that they did not disappear along with the world itself." Maleficent interrupted him, "And I will search for them for you, if you do a few simple tasks for me," Riku didn't speak for a moment, processing what the witch was telling him.

"What do you want me to do for you?" Riku asked.

"We are searching for seven maidens of pure light," The Arabian man spoke up, "We call them the princesses of heart. Once gathered, they grant the power to open the final keyhole. We currently have four of them here with us, what we want from you is to find these other three maidens and bring them here,"

"You want me to abduct people?" Riku practically screamed, "What do I look like? A psychopath?"

"Calm down, young man," the woman with tentacles told him, "We have no intention of harming them. We intend to take perfectly good care of them,"

"Plus, ya got no other place ta go," the creature made out of fabric pointed out. He had a point; Riku did have nowhere else to go. Nowhere else where anyone would help him. These people were willing to help him find Sora and Kairi, in exchange for finding these girls. And they did say that they weren't going to hurt them. Riku had made his choice.

"Alright, I'll do it," He told them. Maleficent beamed.

"Wonderful, now why don't I show you to your room? You must be exhausted after all that's happened today," the witch led Riku down the halls of the castle. She stopped in the lift stop; a place with a stained glass roof and several light green beams of light operating several elevators. Both Maleficent and Riku stepped on the nearest elevator as it started to move upwards. After a few minutes, it stopped in front of a long hallway with light purple walls with dark green beams of light. Maleficent stepped off the elevator and Riku followed her. She stopped in front of a pale yellow door and opened it, revealing a simple room with a small bed, desk, bookshelf, carpet and green walls. "This will be your room for the time you are here. The bathroom is down the hall. If you need absolutely anything, any of us will be more than happy to comply," Maleficent told him as Riku walked into the room and she closed the door behind him. Riku sat down on the bed and let out a deep sigh.

"Can they really help me?" Riku asked himself. Before he knew it, he was fast asleep.

~*KH*~

"So, what do ya guys think of the kid?" Oogie Boogie asked the group of villains.

"Aye, he does seem like he could be useful to us," Captain Hook said.

"I can sense such power, in one so young," Jafar wondered, "It is indeed unusual," Ursula and Hades nodded in agreement.

"Do you really think he'll help us?" Ursula asked Maleficent.

"As long as he believes in the promise that he'll see his friends again, he'll do anything we wish," Maleficent smirked.

**PrismRain13: Just to let you guys know, this is sort of a prequel to "Reconnected", so yes, some stuff I mentioned in there will pop up here.**

**Riku: Thanks for not making me seem like a total jerk.**

**PrismRain13: You're welcome. Happy thanksgiving to all Canadians out there!**


	2. A Nightmare and a Wonderland

**PrismRain13: Hey guys! Here's the next chapter! **

**Maleficent: Yes, children, you now get to read something a random person wrote. Isn't it wonderful? **

**PrismRain13: sarcasm? *Maleficent nods* ... Can you just do the disclaimer? *innocent voice* And please don't hurt me? **

**Maleficent: your child-like attitude is terribly annoying. *sigh* Prism does not claim ownership of Kingdom Hearts or anything else she uses. They belong to Disney and/or Square Enix. She only owns the plot and her original characters. **

**PrismRain13: I should also mention, that italics in this story are either going to be thoughts, dreams or flashbacks.**

**_Chapter 2: A Nightmare and a Wonderland_**

_Riku was running. Running harder and faster then he ever had in his life. His island home was crumbling around him, darkness spreading everywhere, heartless monsters clawing at his legs. But now, that didn't matter to the teen, all that mattered was the voice that was calling him._

_"Riku! Riku help us!" Kairi's voice screamed in the distance. Hearing her voice call for him again made Riku push himself even harder. He knew he was getting closer to where she was. Finally, she became visible upon the few remaining pieces of their island. She looked toward him with pleading eyes. Sora was standing beside her, looking just as scared and desperate as she was._

_"Kairi, Sora, hang on!" Riku told them, but, before he could move any farther, a dozen shadow heartless appeared out of nowhere, attacked Riku from behind, and fell to the ground. The same thing had happened with Kairi and Sora. The heartless continued to pile on top of them until the two teens were no longer seen. Riku desperately tried to free himself from the dark prison he was in, but no matter how hard he tried, it was useless. He watched helplessly as his two best friends completely dissapeared from under the pile of heartless. Riku cried, knowing that they were gone._

_"This world has been connected," A deep voice echoed through the world that was still in the process of being destroyed, "Tied to the darkness, soon to be completely eclipsed," suddenly, a dark portal appeared and a hunched-over figure in a hooded dirt-colored cloack that was covering his entire face, with two dark red and silver straps crossing over his chest. Riku had wanted to ask 'Who are you?', but something was preventing him from speaking. The figure looked directly at Riku and continued to speak, "There is so very much to learn, you understand so little," The figure walked closer to the still-trapped Riku and raised a hand that was coated with dark energy, "One who knows nothing can understand nothing," and then he pointed his hand at Riku and the dark energy fired at him._

~*KH*~

Riku immediately opened his eyes and sat up on the bed, panting and sweating in shock and fear. The events of his nightmare continuously replayed over in his head. Who had that hooded man been? And why had he seemed so familiar? Riku shook his head in an attempt to clear his mind. He stepped off the bed and stretched. Riku then looked at his reflection in a nearby mirror; for one moment, he saw his own face, but then that changed to the same cloaked man from his nightmare. Riku quickly looked away from the mirror and rubbed his eyes. When he looked back at the mirror, he saw his own reflection again. What was wrong with him lately? There was a sudden knock at his door that inturrupted his thoughts.

"Come in," Riku called in a voice that was still shaky. The door opened, and the flame-haired man from the other day walked into the room.

"The boss lady wants to talk with ya. She said she knows where to find one of the princesses," the man told him. Riku nodded.

"I'll be right down," he told him. The man gave a short nod, then walked out of the room. Riku looked in the mirror on last time, half-expecting the hooded figure to show up as his reflection again, when it didn't, Riku let out a sigh of relief. "might as well get this over with," he sighed as he walked out the door.

~*KH*~

Riku walked down the halls and arrived at the castle chapel. All the people he had met the night before were standing around a circular table. As soon as they realized he was there, Maleficent looked up from the table and smiled at him.

"Riku, dear, wonderful to see you. How did you sleep?" Maleficent asked as she walked over to the young man and placed her arm around him.

"Fine," Riku awnsered, not wanting to get into full detail on his nightmare, "You said you found another of the princesses?" Maleficent nodded and led him over to the table. She waved her hand over it, and a small hologram of a young girl appeared. She had long, blonde hair pulled back with a headband and was dressed in a cute light blue dress with a white apron. Riku couldn't help put notice that there was an aura of innocence and purity surrounding her.

"This is Alice," Maleficent said, "we believe that she is currently wandering a world known as 'Wonderland'. I want you to find her, and bring her back completely unharmed." Riku nodded his understanding, still keeping in mind that right now, this was the only way to find Sora and Kairi. "wonderful, now, I have something for you," Maleficent raised her hand, and a few whisps of darkness appeared. The darkness moved underneath her fingertips, until it began to make a shape; a large bat wing. In a few short moments, the darkness dissapeared, leaving behind an indigo and red bat wing-shaped sword. The witch took the hilt of the blade and handed it to the young man. The name _Soul Eater_ instantly filled Riku's mind as soon as he had grasped the hilt. "Use this blade to defend yourself and defeat your enemies. I must warn you, that the heartless may not consider you an ally just yet; they will attack you and espessially Alice and the rest of the princesses because of their light. Do not hesitate to destroy the creatures if they attempt to do you harm. And in the meantime, we will begin searching for your friends."

"Got it," Riku nodded, "So how do I get to this other world?"

"It's quite simple," Maleficent smirked as she raised her hand again, and a dark portal appeared in front of her, "This corridor will take you to Wonderland. Once you have Alice, simply call out to me, and I will provide another corridor for you that will lead you here."

"Yeah, we'll be watchin' ya kid," the sac-like figure said, "so, ya better make a good impression!" Riku nodded, then walked through the corridor of darkness. The same figure turned to the witch, "so, how do we know we can even trust this kid?" Maleficent laughed.

"I assure you, Oogie Boogie, he will do exactly as we tell him. It's like you said; we'll be watching his every move," She told the group of villans as the image on the table shifted to Riku arriving in Wonderland.

~*KH*~

Riku stepped out of the corridor and walked into a clearing with giant flowers. And when I say giant, I mean giant! They were at least three times the size of Riku himself and the few bugs that were flying around were about the same size as an average dog back home was.

"What's going on?" Riku snapped outloud without meaning to, "How did I get so small?"

"Oh, being small is nothing to be ashamed of, dearie," a forigin voice spoke. Riku raised Soul Eater in defense and looked around the space.

"Shh! He could be a weed!" another voice scoffed.

"He doesn't look like a weed, he looks quite handsome!" another voice giggled uncontrollably.

"Who said that?" after a few moments of silence, Riku realized that he was the only person there. The teen lowered his weapon and looked around the space again. Who had spoken to him? A small part of Riku thought that it was the flowers, but Riku himself rolled his eyes, "Flowers can't talk," Riku scoffed. He was, however, proved wrong when a nearby rose lowered itself to his level and started talking.

"But of course we talk, dear," the rose said kindly.

"If there's anyone worth talking too," a purple flower scoffed in a snobbish tone.

"Or about!" a daisy giggled, "And we sing too, would you like to hear?" Riku shook his head.

"Sorry I don't have time; I'm looking for a girl named Alice," Riku explained.

"What in the world do you want with that filthy weed?" the purple flower snapped.

"It's none of your business; have you seen her or not?" Riku retorted.

"She went by here not too long ago," the rose told him, "She went to speak with that catarpilar over there," the rose pointed over to a nearby mushroom that had a blue catarpillar.

"Thanks," Riku nodded as he started walking away.

"Do come back soon, handsome!" the daisy giggled and waved. Riku moved over to the mushroom and looked at the catarpillar. He was looking off into the distance tiredly and smoking a hookah. Riku stood there until the catarpillar finally noticed him.

"Who are you?" the catarpillar wheezed as colourfull smoke came out from his mouth.

"I'm Riku," Riku coughed as the smoke came near him, "have you seen a girl named Alice?"

"Perhaps," the catarpillar replied while he smoked more. Riku paused, expecting the catarpillar to tell him where she was. When he didn't, Riku spoke again,

"Can you tell me how to find her?"

"Yes, one side will make you taller, the other side will make you shorter," the catarpillar replied. Riku raised an eyebrow.

"The other side of what?"

"THE MUSHROOM OF COURSE!" the catarpillar snapped and then walked away. Riku looked down at the mushroom quizically, then ripped off a strip off both sides. The teen looked at both the peices in his hands, trying to decide which would make him taller. He finally decided on the piece in his left hand and nibbled a piece off. As soon as the silver-haired teen had tasted the mushroom he instanty grew to his normal size. Riku looked down at the two small pieces of mushroom and pocketed them, then began walking down a dirt path.

**PrismRain13: Hope you liked this chappie :) next chapter, we meet Alice!**

**Maleficent: *sigh* ...you're so terribly childish.**

**PrismRain13: This has been your friendly neighbourhood nerd, Prism :) Later Taters!**


	3. The Fifth Princess

**PrismRain13: No reviews last chapter? WHY! I THOUGHT YOU GUYS LIKED ME?**

**Alice: I do hope that your audience will review this one.**

**PrismRain13: YES! PLEASE!**

**Alice: *steps away* Prism doesn't own anything that she writes about other than her original characters and plot.**

_**Chapter 3: The Fifth Princess**_

Riku wandered aimlessly through the confusing woods of Wonderland. Suddenly, he heard someone singing;

"_A very merry unbirthday! A very merry unbirthday to ussssss!" _ Two loud, obnoxious voices sang in the distance. Riku followed the sound of the singing until he came across a long table cluttered with various unmatching tea pots, tea cups and sugar containers. At the head of the table was a short man in a large top hat with wild white hair in a green coat and a brown-furred hare in a red coat. Riku walked up to the two natives of the world, they didn't even notice him walking up towards them because they were too busy drinking tea. Riku stood there for about five minutes before they acknowledged his presence.

"No room! There's no room!" the Hatter and Hare exclaimed and tried to shove Riku out of their garden.

"You're the only people here," Riku said.

"It's rude to show up when you're not invited!" The March Hare spoke quickly.

"I'll say it's rude! It's VERY rude!" the Mad Hatter nodded.

"I'm not here for tea," Riku tried to explain while the Mad Hatter and the March Hare stared at him in disbelief, "I'm looking for a girl named Alice, have you seen her?"

"Possibly, maybe, maybe not," the March Hare giggled, "care for some tea?"

"Sorry, I don't like tea," Riku said simply. Both the Hatter and the Hare gasped in shock.

"NOT LIKE TEA?" The Mad Hatter exclaimed, "You must be horribly sick!"

"Don't move lad; I'll get you some tea!" the March Hare panicked as he and the Hatter ran frantically around the cluttered Tea Party Garden, looking for the right tea. While the two weren't looking, Riku quietly slipped out of the garden, then ran as far away as possible.

"Some help they were," Riku grumbled. He continued walking through the woods, until he came across a heart-shaped hedge with an entrance guarded by a life-size black card. _Could this world get any weirder?_ Riku thought.

"OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!" A loud voice boomed from behind the hedge, and then the sound of blades clashing was heard. Riku sneaked back behind the hedge and saw a small bird cage being held up beside a golden throne the front being hidden by a dark red curtain. Inside the cage was a small girl who looked identical to the projection Maleficent had shown him before he left.

_That must be Alice_, Riku realized. As carefully as he could, the island boy climbed up the hedge and tapped on the golden bars. The girl looked at him with bright blue eyes and she instantly perked up.

"Hello," she said politely, "who are you?"

"My name's Riku," he told her, "I'm going to get you out of here," Riku then summoned Soul Eater and began sawing at the bars.

"It's nice to meet you, Riku," the girl beamed and gave a curtsey, "I'm Alice. Did you fall down the rabbit hole too?"

"...not really," Riku whispered, while his sole focus was on the bars.

"Oh, don't you find this world just curious? I do! So many mad people everywhere. Not one of them was helpful in helping me find the white rabbit!" Riku ignored most of what Alice had to say, and continued working on the bars. Once he had made a big enough hole, he carefully helped Alice out. They both ran away from the sound of the loud voices, while Alice stared lovingly at Riku. "Thank you so very much for helping me out of there!"

"It was nothing," Riku replied.

"Where are we going next? Are you going to help me get home?" Alice asked. By then, they had made it to a giant pink and white room with equally giant furniture, yet there was a wooden door small enough for them, but the doorknob was snoring.

"I'm taking you to someone I work for; she needs you," Riku replied without looking at her.

"You're taking me away from one horrid prison only to take me to another?" Alice gasped. She tried to run, but Riku kept a tight hold on her wrist.

"You don't get it!" Riku snapped, "I have to do this! It's the only way I'll ever find my friends!" Alice stopped struggling for a moment and saw how much pain was in Riku's eyes. The girl actually felt sympathy for him.

"Riku, I will go with you, on my own will," Alice told him. The island boy couldn't believe what he was hearing; she was letting him kidnap her? "I understand what you are going through, I know what it's like to be alone and have no one help you," Alice explained, a small tear trickling down her cheek, "You are lucky enough to find someone to help you, but if I don't come with you, then you won't find your friends. So, I'll come with you," Riku let go of the wrist he had been grasping so tightly that the girl's skin had gained a red tint. Alice made no move to run or attack him. She only gazed at Riku, waiting for her to take her to wherever it was he needed to take her. Riku looked up to the ceiling and called,

"Maleficent! I'm done here!" he called.

"Riku look out!" Alice exclaimed as she pointed up towards the sky. And just then a giant, red and black heartless with long arms and legs jumped down, landed in front of Alice and Riku, and then pulled out two flame-coated batons. Riku stepped in front of Alice and placed his arm in front of her protectively.

"Hide!" Riku ordered, "I'll take care of this!" Alice nodded and hid in the entrance of a giant fireplace as Riku summoned Soul Eater and charged at the Trickmaster heartless. He jumped onto a giant table and slashed at the heatless with strikes from Soul Eater. The heatless avoided a few of the attacks ad fired balls of fire at the young man. Riku skilfully dodged the fire and attacked its legs. The heartless sneered and kicked Riku into the floor. Alice gasped softly; she couldn't let Riku do this on his own. The girl looked desperately around the space for something she could use as a weapon, finally coming across a stray piece of plywood. Alice picked it up, and then ran towards the heartless. Before the Trickmaster could attack Riku again, Alice attacked the heartless from behind. The Trickmaster ignored Riku for a moment and glared angrily at Alice. Alice returned the glare and smacked the heatless across the face, causing the head to spin around rapidly. While Riku stabbed the Trickmaster in the back, causing it to howl in pain and disappear in darkness. Riku turned to Alice. "Why did you help me? You had the chance to leave and you didn't,"

"I already told you that I would go with you," Alice replied, "And I just couldn't let you suffer after you already helped me," Riku managed a small smile, then a dark portal identical to the one that had brought him here appeared. "Shall we be going?" Alice asked as Riku nodded and led her into the corridor of darkness.

~*KH*~

The portal led the two of them to the castle chapel, where Maleficent and the other villains were gathered. Maleficent smirked and walked over to the two.

"Well done, Riku," Maleficent smirked, and then turned to Alice, "Welcome, Alice, princess of heart,"

"It's a pleasure to meet you ma'am," Alice murmured, but Maleficent didn't hear.

"Riku, you can take our lovely young guest to the dungeons; I'm sure she'll get along well with the others," Riku nodded and led Alice out of the room. Sometime later, they had reached the lowest level of the castle. The dungeons were dark grey with golden bars over every cell with emerald green torches on the walls providing little light. At the far end of the hall, the only occupied cell contained four maidens. One had short black hair wearing a yellow, blue and red dress with skin white as snow. A second one had blonde hair tied in a bun and dressed in an elegant silver ball gown. Another had long golden hair and lips red as a rose; she was garbed in a long, blue dress. The last one had long, reddish-brown hair while she was wearing a yellow ball gown. All four of the princesses looked at Riku and Alice as soon as he made their presence known.

"Who are you?" the black-haired on asked in a sweet voice, "Were you two kidnapped as well?"

"No," Riku replied, "I'm working with Maleficent," the four maidens gasped in shock, "Alice here is your new cell mate," the island boy opened the door to the cell, and Alice freely walked in. Riku locked the cell door as soon as Alice was inside. Then, without looking back, Riku left. The maiden in the silver dress placed her hand on her shoulder in a reassuring manner.

"Everything will be alright," she said in a comforting tone.

"I know," Alice sighed, "I just feel so sorry for Riku. I hope he finds what he is looking for."

**PrismRain13: sorry, couldn't resist the bit with the Mad Hatter and March Hare at the beginning. **

**Alice: Do take the time to review, it's only a few minutes of your time.**


	4. Land of the Dragons

**PrismRain13: Yay! Thanks for all the reviews, guys! **

**Sora: Prism here still owns nothing except the plot, you didn't expect that to change, did you? **

**PrismRain13: If I did, Kairi would have been kicking major butt in KH1...**

**_Chapter 4: The Land of Dragons_**

He didn't understand why, but what he had just done was really bugging him. The young man was lying down on his bed, yet the softness didn't comfort him at all. Riku looked up at the ceiling, thinking about Alice; her kindness had reminded him so much of Kairi. Would she have wanted him to do this?

"This just sucks," Riku groaned as he continued to stare at the ceiling.

"Indeed, this does," a low, powerful and familiar voice spoke near him. Riku instantly perked up and looked anxiously around the room.

"Who's there?" Riku questioned as he raised Soul Eater, trying not to let the voice know how scared he was.

"Think of me as a guide, Riku," the voice spoke again as a figure walked out of the shadows. Riku recognized him immediately as the person from his earlier nightmare. However, before he could say anything, the figure spoke again, "Why are you laying here with guilt? Guilt is weakness, you cannot expect to get any stronger that way!" the islander lowered his weapon as the figure continued, "You left your islands to go to other worlds, so why don't you?"

"I don't know how," Riku said softly.

"Then I will show you how," The figure moved slowly and casually out of the door and into the hall. Riku stared at him for a moment before following him. After a few minutes, they had reached the library. Bookshelves pilled with a large number of books were on every wall in the room. The carpet was an emerald green and the walls were a pale yellow. The man ran his fingers along the many books and finally pulled out a black and dark purple tomb with the heartless symbol on the cover. But, when he opened it, Riku saw that it was really a hollow book and inside was a small dark purple crystal. The figure placed the crystal in Riku's hand. "Corridors of darkness are created when a being summons enough darkness from their hearts. However, you do not posses enough darkness just yet. Until your darkness has grown, this crystal will create the corridor for you."

"Thanks," Riku nodded as the figure disappeared. The young man turned the crystal a few times in his hand, then a dark corridor appeared in front of him. Riku took a deep breath, then walked in. What he didn't notice, was a shadow heartless watch curiously, then follow him through the corridor.

~*KH*~

Riku appeared moments later in the middle of a large Chinese family yard with a cherry blossom tree and small lake and bridge, with a small temple with small tombstones inside. The islander noticed a young black-haired woman dresses in a pink dress made of various fabrics sitting under the cherry blossom tree on a stone bench and crying softly. Riku walked up to her,

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"No," the woman cried, "I ruined my interview with the matchmaker; now I'll never bring honour to my family." she continued to cry until Riku took a seat next to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"You can't blame yourself," Riku said to her as the woman looked at him with sad brown eyes, "You were probably just nervous; it happens to all of us." Then, the island boy gazed at the flowers on the cherry blossom tree, "Take the blossoms for example; some have already bloomed, but one's late," he said as he pointed out the one blossom that hadn't bloomed yet, "I would bet you anything that when this on blooms, it'll be ready to show you what it's made of." the woman laughed softly and managed a small smile.

"Thank you," she smiled, "I feel much better now. I don't think I got your name."

"It's Riku," he told her, "And, don't worry about what the matchmaker said; you decide who you are not some lady."

"Thank you, Riku. My name's Mulan," she replied as she stood up from her seat, "I'd better tell my mother and father what happened, and what my plans are now," Mulan bowed in respect to the young man, and then walked with new confidence towards her house. Riku watched her, until she was gone, feeling good that he had made a positive impact on someone's life. Suddenly, a loud explosion was heard from the small temple and small, skinny red lizard-like creature flew out and knocked Riku right off the bench.

"AND STAY OUT MUSHU!" a deep voice roared from within the temple. The lizard stood, looking dazed on top of Riku's head. Then, he shook his head and glared at the temple that had to be at least twenty feet away now.

"You just wait head-ancestor-guy! Mushu ain't gonna tolerate this kinda treatment from nobody! And when I do somethin' amazingly worth a gold medal; somethin' family guardian-material, you're gonna be sorry!" The lizard then stuck his toungue out in the direction of the temple. Riku doubted whoever had kicked him out could hear him anymore. It was then that the lizard realized that he was standing on Riku's head. "You just heard everything, didn't you?" The lizard asked nervously. Riku looked up at him and rolled his eyes.

"Definitely not something I needed to hear," the islander said as he got up from his position on the ground and the lizard moved to Riku's shoulder, "What could a little lizard like you have done to get that guy so mad at you anyway?"

"Woah! Dragon!" he exclaimed, "_Dragon_ not lizard! I don't do that tongue thing!" Riku shrugged, the two were silent for a moment, until the dragon spoke up again, "Say, maybe you can help me out? Tough guy like you should be able to teach that tubby ghost jerk a thing or two!"

"Look, I'd like to help, but I'm a little busy trying to find my friends..." Riku started to say, but the dragon interrupted him.

"No problem! That's perfect! Once the head ancestor sees how great of a guardian I am with you; he's sure to make me a family guardian again!" Riku stared uneasily at the small creature, and then he grabbed onto his shirt with his tiny claws and leaned in uncomfortably close to Riku's face, "Please! I'm beggin' ya here!"

"Okay, okay," Riku said as he carefully pulled the little dragon off him, "You can come with me, but I'm warning you; you need to stay hidden when Maleficent and her group are watching." the dragon then caught Riku's face in a tight hug with his entire body.

"Thank you! Thank you man! You've just made this dragon's day!" Riku winced from how tight the dragon was holding on, then pried him off his face, "By the way, in case you didn't hear the head ancestor's angry voice; the name's Mushu."

"I'm Riku," Riku replied as Mushu climbed on to Riku's shoulder.

"Alright, Riku my man. So where're we going?" Mushu asked with enthusiasm. But, before Riku could reply, he heard a female voice growl in frustration, followed by the sound of a battle progressing. Riku began walking quietly towards the sounds and looked behind a stone wall and saw three people; all wearing long, black cloaks and carrying different weapons battling a large dragon-like heartless. The first was a woman with short blonde hair that had two strands sticking out, she had a cruel look in her green eyes and was carrying eight yellow and blue knives between her fingers, which she was using to fire bolts of lightning and slash deep wounds. The second had steel blue bangs that completely covered half of his face, he was carrying a dark book and firing blasts of dark magic at the heartless. The third was a man with firey-red hair, green eyes and two strange tattoos under his eyes, he was wielding two large circular silver and red weapons and throwing fire at the heartless. Riku and Mushu watched the battle progress until the heartless disappeared. The three warriors stretched and the woman groaned as she dismissed her knives.

"I still don't get why we have to do this; it's not like us fighting the heartless is going to help Kingdom Hearts' progress," She growled.

"If you paid attention at the last meeting, Larxene, we are supposed to be looking for the keybearer who is believed to be defeating the heartless," the man with the book replied while Larxene huffed.

"Oh, come on Zexion, you know hardly any of us pays attention to what the boss man has to say," The red-head stepped in, "I mean everything he has to say is so boring and he always says the same stuff," He then made his voice go deeper, Riku assumed that he was mocking their boss, "We _must_ complete Kingdom Hearts! We _must _find a keyblade wielder so we can complete Kingdom Hearts! We _must..._"

"That's enough Axel," Zexion snapped, "You know full well what Lord Xemnas says goes."

"Yeah, if you don't fall asleep in the middle of a meeting," Larxene smirked, "Which, if I remember correctly, Demyx did the other day."

"Man, who are those guys?" Mushu whispered in Riku's ear.

"I don't know," Riku admitted, "I've never seen them before," then, the woman looked in their direction and smirked again.

"Well, boys it looks like we're not alone," but before Riku realized she was talking about them, she grabbed Riku's arm, pulled him out of his hiding place and threw him onto the ground in front of the two men. Mushu cringed in fear.

"Well, this is awkward," the dragon winced. Axel stepped in front of Riku and crossed his arms.

"Any particular reason you were spying on us?" he questioned. When Riku only glared and didn't awnser Axel laughed in amusement, "I thought so," Larxene then came up behind Riku and pulled him up by the collar of his shirt and grabbed Mushu's thin torso in her other hand.

"So, what do you think we should do with them?" Larxene asked as she gained another evil smirk. Zexion crossed his arms and looked down at Riku.

"Perhaps we should take them to the castle, Lord Xemnas should know the proper punishment for these scum." Zexion smirked as both Riku and Mushu quivered in fear.

**Sora: ohh... intense.**

**PrismRain13: Yay! Remember to review guys! Be awesome!**


	5. The Keyhole

**PrismRain13: Didn't take me long to come up with a new chapter, did it?**

**Mushu: Dang it, girl! An update already?**

**PrismRain13: I didn't exactly want to leave you and Riku at a cliffhanger... Disclaimer, please?**

**Mushu: my girl, Prism owns noting other than Riku's plot and her OC's. She is making no money off this, so nobody sue her!**

_**Chapter 5: The Keyhole**_

Larxene smirked evilly as she tightened her grip on Riku and Mushu. The little dragon struggled to get out of the woman's grip, which earned him a painful electric shock. Axel rolled his eyes, wondering why they would struggle.

"We didn't do anything!" Riku exclaimed as he put desperately tried to pry Larxene's hand off his shirt collar, "Why are you attacking us?"

"You've seen us," Zexion told the silver-haired boy, "And you obviously overheard what we were talking about; you know too much." He them turned to Axel, "Let's go," Axel nodded, raised his hand and a corridor of darkness appeared. Larxene looked down at their two hostages and her smirk grew.

"If both of you behave, I won't hurt you... much," she laughed insanely and started dragging them towards the dark corridor. As a desperate attempt, Mushu bit down as hard as he could on Larxene's hand. The woman shrieked in pain and let go of Mushu, and allowing Riku to wriggle out of her grasp. Mushu climbed onto Riku's shoulder and both of them ran as fast as they could away from the three Organization members. As soon as Larxene had recovered from the pain, she growled as her knives appeared in her hands, "You little rats!" she roared as she ran after them. Zexion and Axel looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

"What do you think? Should we follow them?" Axel asked. In response, Zexion's lexicon appeared in his hands.

"I know the scent he carries; he has been living in the presence of the witch Maleficent. If he informs her of our current status, it will only lead us further away from finding the Keybearer," Zexion explained. Axel nodded his understanding and summoned his chackrams.

"Well said, let's go!" The two members disappeared through corridors of darkness, ready to attack Riku. Larxene continued to run after the silver-haired boy and the dragon, showing no sign of giving up. Riku was panting heavily as he turned sharply around the corners of the small Chinese town; Larxene right on his tail. As the two ran through the streets, several of the world's citizens stared at them with odd expressions, including Mulan, who recognized Riku. She gasped softly behind her hand as soon as Larxene came into view, and realized that Riku was in danger.

"I have to help him," she said softly and began frantically looking around for a weapon. Meanwhile, Riku and Mushu continued their desperate attempt of escaping from the knife-carrying woman. Mushu climbed on top of the islander's head and stuck his tongue out in Larxene's direction.

"Keep chasin' us all ya want, lady! But we ain't givin' up!" the little dragon mocked. The woman only smirked and continued to chase them.

"Yeah? Well, neither am I!" She shouted back and smirked. Then, she dismissed the knives being held in one hand and snapped her fingers. As soon as she had, about ten tall, slender female-like white creatures surrounded Riku and Mushu. They were all carrying knives that looked identical to Larxene's only silver, their faces were covered with yellow cloths that reached down their backs, and on their foreheads were some kind of strange silver symbol attached to the yellow cloths. And around their waists were black waist sashes. The creatures looked at Riku and raised their knives. The island boy stopped in his tracks, as the white creatures looked respectfully at Larxene, who crossed her arms and started laughing evilly. Then, two corridors of darkness appeared outside of the circle of Larxene's minions and Axel and Zexion stepped out.

"Nice try, young man," Zexion said cooly while Riku glared at him.

"Man, when did you get to thinking you could beat even one member of the Organization?" Axel asked. It was then that Riku realized that they were all standing right in front of the temple that Mushu got kicked out of.

"What Organization?" Riku questioned.

"Organization 12, duh!" Larxene responded, "You know; group of twelve super-powerful nobodies who control the lesser nobodies?"

"What are nobodies?" Mushu asked as he looked uneasily at the white creatures summoned by Larxene.

"You seriously don't know?" Axel asked as both Riku and Mushu nodded.

"Yeah right!" Larxene snapped, "That's what they all say!" she then turned to the white creatures, "Ninjas, do your boss a huge favour and take this trouble-maker back to the castle. I'd really like to go home now." The 'Ninjas' nodded towards Larxene and began to move closer to Riku. However, before even one could even touch the silver-haired boy, it was destroyed by a silver sword with a gold handle. Riku looked up at the wielder of the sword and saw that it was Mulan, still in her pink dress. The three Organization members gasped in shock as another Ninja was destroyed by Riku's sword and another was burned by a flame from Mushu's mouth. Another ninja raised its knives, and scratched at Mulan's arm, then it was stabbed in the back by Riku, then he threw her a potion which Mulan gladly took. Mushu jumped down on the floor and burned the Ninja's legs. Larxene growled in irritation and summoned her knives. "Nobody and I mean nobody gets rid of my Ninjas that easily!" Riku and Mulan raised their blades in response.

"You want a piece of us, lady?" Mushu roared as he raised his small fists, "Then come get it!" Larxene was about to charge at the three, but was held back by Zexion.

"Forget it, Larxene, he's not worth it," the man said as Larxene growled in defeat. Then, all three of the Nobodies disappeared through dark corridors. Riku turned to Mulan,

"Thanks for the help back there," Riku told her.

"I thought I owed you a favour," Mulan replied, "you helped me before, so I helped you." Riku nodded and looked down at her sword.

"Where'd you get that?" he asked.

"I... borrowed it from my father," Mulan blushed as she and Riku laughed.

"Oh yeah! Did ya see their faces? We totally scared them off! We're the best!" Mushu laughed happily and pounded his fists into the air. Mulan giggled softly, then turned back to Riku,

"Well, I suppose I should be going now, good luck," Mulan waved, then walked back in the direction of her house. Riku waved back, until she was gone, then looked at the small temple.

"So, what exactly did you do to make these 'ancestors' so mad at you anyway?" Riku asked Mushu as the small dragon climbed onto Riku's shoulder.

"A dragon makes one _tiny_ mistake, and they suddenly without warning throw the little guy out! I mean, what's up with that?" Mushu grumbled.

"Are you still sure you want to come with me?" Riku asked.

"You kiddin' me?" Mushu exclaimed, "After we just showed those guys what we're made of, the head ancestor is probably even talkin' about givin' me back my pedestal already!" the dragon said enthusiastically, "Come on!" then, Mushu jumped off Riku and climbed up the stairs, into the temple. Riku sighed, but followed him anyway. Inside, there were multiple dark silver gravestones with Chinese characters written on them and pedestals with stone guardians on them. Mushu walked up to the corner and pulled out a gong then began banging it with a small stick. "Come on, people, wake up! Mushu's in the house! I'm ready to get my pedestal back!" Riku chuckled at Mushu's desperate attempts, but then noticed something strange about one of the grave stones. A faint shape started to appear, outlined in metallic blue. As Riku moved closer to the grave stone, the shape became clearer; it was a keyhole. Mushu stopped trying to get the ancestor's attention and looked at the keyhole.

"A keyhole?" Riku questioned, "Where have I seen something like this before?" Then, right behind them, a shadow heartless appeared out of the ground and looked greedily at the keyhole. And then, the heartless began running directly towards the boy and the dragon. But, instead of attacking them, the heartless jumped right into the keyhole.

"Okay... what was that about?" Mushu asked as he looked inside the keyhole, trying to see where the heartless went.

"I'm not sure," Riku admitted. Then, small, oily globs of darkness began to pour out of the keyhole. Mushu was the first to notice it.

"Eww... somebody ought to clean this mess up," the dragon whined as more darkness poured out, and dark mist also came out. It was then that Riku realized what was happening.

"This is just like with the islands..." Riku gasped as he quickly picked up Mushu and ran as fast as he could out of the temple. Then, out of the keyhole a huge burst of darkness came out and covered the entire world. The wind blew heavily as the entire world darkened and bits of the world were pulled away and everywhere they looked heartless rose out of the ground and attacked the world's citizens. A large dark red orb surrounded in darkness appeared in the sky and turned the sky pitch black and caused the wind to become harder and more intense as the world crumbled around them. The little dragon shivered in fear and looked at Riku.

"Man, what's happening?" Mushu wailed.

"The world's being taken over by darkness," Riku realized, "We need to get out of here, now!" the island boy digged around in his pocket in search of the dark crystal. When he finally found it, Riku raised his hand in front of him and a corridor of darkness appeared. Not even worried about where he would end up, Riku ran into it, still holding Mushu close to his chest.

~*KH*~

Maleficent gazed out of one of the many windows of Hollow Bastion, wondering where Riku could have disappeared to. The witch then heard footsteps coming her way and turned to find Hades, Jafar, Ursula, Captain Hook and Oogie Boogie standing there.

"Have you found Riku?" Maleficent questioned as all the villains shook their heads.

"Face it, toots, the kid's long gone. He probably ran off to look for his buddies on his own," Hades said.

"Impossible! We had an agreement!" Maleficent snapped, "However, if I find that this is the case, then when found Riku will be punished severely." Before any of the other villains could respond, a shadow heartless appeared out of the ground and started jumping up and down, trying to tell the witch something, "You are sure?" Maleficent questioned and the heartless nodded, "Do you know where he is now?" the heartless nodded again, "Go there now, and if you find the world's keyhole, take it." The heartless nodded once more, and then disappeared.

"What was that all about?" Ursula asked.

"Apparently, Riku has been aiding us after all. He appeared on a new world and led the heartless straight to the keyhole!" The Villains gasped in excitement, "At this very moment, he has landed on the home world of one of the princesses. We will be sure to reward him when he comes back and shows us the keyhole of that world as well."

**Mushu: NOOOOO! My world's gone :(**

**PrismRain13: It's not gone forever; it's in KH2.**

**Mushu: oh yeah! Sorry for freaking you out there...**

**PrismRain13: *sigh* anyway, about Larxene's 'Ninjas'... all the Organization members in KH2 have a certain breed of nobodies can control, but we didn't get to see the ones of the members that "died", so I thought I'd make some up. ****Vacurai78; eep! Heartless! *grabs Keyblade ad kills it* thanks! I really try to get the personalities right, glad you like it! InkheartWarrior; yeah, Kyra and Rusty probably will make an appearance, but it won't be a huge role... PirateLover; it's updated now. Mushu's so awesome, I love him! Geek Half-Blood; LOL :) but, I wouldn't try that on Jadis. The Odd Duo; that's a relief! Luke will possibly make an appearance in this story.**


	6. A Lingering Will

**PrismRain13: Thanks for all the awesome reviews, guys!**

**Mulan: Prism does not claim ownership of Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy; they belong to Disney and/or Square Enix.**

**PrismRain13: I only own Riku's plot and my OC's. And WARNING: Spoilers for Birth by Sleep!**

_**Chapter 6: A Lingering Will**_

"Are you certain?" Xemnas, the leader of Organization 12 questioned Axel, Zexion and Larxene. The three of them had arrived an hour ago and explained what had happened in the Land of the Dragons to the rest of the Organization. They were all sitting in the Round Room, on their respected white throne-like chairs.

"Lord Xemnas, my senses do not lie. He contained both the scent of the Keyblade, and the scent of the witch Maleficent," Zexion told his superior.

"According to my recent scan, the Land of the Dragons has just disappeared to darkness," Vexen said, "It is clear that this young man does in fact posses the power to wield a Keyblade."

"Facinating..." Xemnas said, "What was his name?"

"It was Riku," Axel replied. Larxene and Zexion stared at him with confusion because neither of them had heard his name, "I looked it up on the files of people who survived a world's destruction."

"Riku, why does that name sound so familiar?" Xemnas murmured so quietly that the only one who heard him was Xigbar, who was sitting right next to him. The Superior turned his attention back to the entire Organization, "Missions will proceed as usual, but if Riku is found then bring him here unharmed." The members nodded, and then disappeared through dark corridors. The only two people left in the room were Xemnas and Xigbar. The freeshooter looked up at his Superior, who seemed to be deep in thought.

"So, you met this kid before?" Xigbar asked. Xemnas shook his head.

"Not me, him," Xemnas told him. The Freeshooter opened his mouth in shock.

"You saying that you can see everything that Terra saw?" Xemnas nodded.

"Every experience he had, every feeling he once had, and all the pain and suffering he's going through now."

"Woah, woah back up!" Xigbar exclaimed, his mouth still wide open and waving his hands in front of him, "You mean Terra's still alive? Inside you?" his superior glanced back at him and moved to expain;

"For years Terra's armour, containing his lingering spirit has been restless at the Keyblade Graveyard. While his heart stayed with his body even when I took over. Terra was and still is nothing but a prisoner inside his own body with me being a parasite trying to dispose of him. I tried and tried to force that stubborn child to give up, but he never did. And when I became both heartless and nobody, Terra's heart followed what mine did. Therefore his is both with me and my heartless." The two were silent for a moment, until Xigbar spoke up again,

"So, what's the kid saying now?" he asked.

"Oh, the usual," Xemnas sighed, "Protesting against my actions, vowing that he will make me pay for everything I've done to him and his pathetic friends and lastly, knowing he made the right choice when he chose Riku as his successor."

~*KH*~

_He was home. The islands looked as though darkness hadn't touched the beautiful world at all. Riku gazed out at the ocean, sitting on the bent paupu tree. The young man breathed in a sigh of longing. Realizing for the first time how much he really missed his home._

"_It's beautiful, isn't it?" a voice asked from behind him. The islander turned around to find a young man who appeared to be around nineteen years old with wild dark brown hair, blue eyes and strange brown and gold armour on his entire left arm, along with the strangest clothes the islander had ever seen._

"_Who are you?" Riku asked._

"_Someone you met a long time ago," the man replied, "I understand if you don't remember." Riku nodded his head slowly._

"_So, why are you here?"_

"_I came to warn you, Riku. Don't make the same mistake I did; don't put strength before the people you care about the most."_

Riku moaned in pain as he slowly came out of the slumber he was in. Why did that man seem so familiar? When Riku was fully awake he realized he was lying on a small bed with light brown sheets in an equally small house. As far as he could see, he was the only person in the entire house.

"Mushu?" Riku asked softly, "Mushu, where are you?" the young man sat up and looked around the space, looking for the small dragon.

"You mind getting off me, man?" Mushu's muffled voice came from under the young man. Riku moved off the bed, revealing the red dragon looking to be in a lot of pain from Riku sitting on him for who knows how long.

"Sorry about that," Riku couldn't resist a small laugh. While Mushu rose to his feet, stretched, crossed his arms, leaned in close to Riku's face in glared.

"You think this is funny? Cuz it's not! I'm aching in places I never knew I had!" before Riku could reply, the front door opened, and a short old man with balding white hair and moustache, dressed in old, dark clothing. As soon as he saw that Riku was awake, he smiled.

"Oh, good, you're awake," the old man said kindly, "to be honest I thought the wolves would have gotten you if I hadn't come sooner."

"You brought us here?" Riku asked as the old man nodded, "thanks, I'm Riku and..." the islander was about to introduce his red companion, before the dragon climbed onto Riku's head.

"The name's Mushu, old man! The best family guardian you could ever meet!" Mushu could have gone on for hours, but fortunately, Riku pulled the dragon off his head and covered his mouth.

"You're going to have to excuse him; he's tends to go a little over the top," The old man chuckled.

"It's alright; I haven't had a good laugh in a long time. My name is Maurice,"

"I'm Riku, and this is Mushu," Riku replied. The three were silent for a moment, until Riku noticed a picture on a nearby dresser of Maurice and a woman much younger than him with long, brown hair tied in a blue ribbon and wearing a pale blue dress, yet she looked very familiar. "sir, who's that girl?" Riku asked.

"Yeah, she's good-looking!" Mushu exclaimed when Riku removed his hand from Mushu's mouth. Maurice chuckled in amusement, picked up the picture and looked at it lovingly.

"That's my daughter, Belle," the old man smiled, "I miss her so much. She's been away for a long time."

"Where is she?" Riku asked.

"If I told you, you would not believe me," Maurice sighed sadly. The silver-haired boy looked at the sad old man and realized how much sadness he was feeling. Even Mushu seemed to sense Maurice's pain. Riku placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and the old man looked into his eyes.

"Of course I would. After everything I've seen in the last few days," Maurice managed a small smile, and was about to explain, until his front door burst open and two men marched in. The first was a tall, muscular, handsome man with black hair tied in a ponytail and dressed in dark red hunting clothes. The other was at least a third the size of the first man, was on the chubby size and was missing a few teeth.

"Maurice!" The muscular man boomed as the old man jumped, "We need to talk now!"

"Oh, Gaston," Maurice mumbled, "What a pleasant surprise,"

"Don't give us that old man!" the short man snapped, "We want to know where Belle is and we want to know now!" Gaston rolled his eyes and slapped the short man across the head.

"What did we discuss before we came here, LeFou?" Gaston asked the short man.

"I'm here to be your lackey, not to talk," LeFou grumbled while he rubbed the spot where Gaston smacked him. Riku stepped protectively in front of Maurice and glared at the two men.

"Leave the guy alone! He misses his daughter, is that any reason to barge in?" Riku snapped while Mushu nodded in agreement. Gaston returned the glare and stepped closer to the silver-haired boy.

"Is that so, and who are you to say?" then Gaston turned to Maurice, "You start adopting freak shows old man?"

"Yeah! What kind of person has silver hair?" LeFou laughed, but he went ignored.

**PrismRain13: I would have added more, but I'm tired :(**

**Mulan: Remember, everyone to review!**

**PrismRain13: It really makes me smile! Geek Half-Blood; Sorry, here's an antidote! InkheartWarrior; according to MysteryGirl, yes she does have a boyfriend, but I still don't know if I'll be able to fit him in, and, Riku's going to meet West, Kyra and the others when he goes to Traverse Town, which will be in a few chappies, and you're going to see Stitch in Reconnected, just be patient, and lastly Agrabah's going to follow Aladdin 3. Night; thanks! I will :)**


	7. The Beast

**PrismRain13: Yay! Another chapter of Riku's adventures in Kingdom Hearts :)**

**Gaston: *huff* Why am I not the main character? If I was, all the ladies would be all over this story!**

**PrismRain13: Dude, no they wouldn't! I still own nothing!**

**Gaston: What do you know? Come on ladies, show me the love!**

**PrismRain13: ...excuse me while I go vomit...**

_**Chapter 7: The Beast**_

Riku glared at Gaston while the older man smirked at the teenager. Mushu let out a small growl and leaned in close to Gaston's face. "Don't even think about calling us freaks, muscle-man! I'm a guardian dragon; you don't wanna mess with me!" Gaston only glared down at Mushu, which caused the dragon to cringe.

"How would you like to be the newest addition to my wall art?" Gaston asked in a threatening tone.

"Uhh... no thanks, I'm good!" Mushu said nervously, while Riku rolled his eyes.

"So, do have a reason for being here? Because if you don't, I strongly suggest that you leave," Riku told the older man in a strong tone.

"If you must know, I'm looking for Belle, so I can take her as my wife! I know the old man knows where she is!" Gaston snapped.

"I've told you before, Gaston, Belle is being held captive by a vicious beast!" Maurice told the group as they all looked at him in shock. Then, Gaston and LeFou began laughing uncontrollably.

"You didn't say anything about her being held prisoner, how long has this been going on?" Riku gasped.

"You can't honestly believe what that old man has to say!" Gaston laughed, "He's been using the same excuse for months!" Riku however, ignored Gaston and continued talking to Maurice,

"Do you know where this beast lives?" Riku asked, "Maybe I could help get her back."

"Oh, no Riku," Maurice shook his head, "I can't ask you to do this, this is a terrible monster."

"I have to repay you somehow for saving Mushu and I," insisted Riku, "And it wouldn't hurt to at least check this place out."

"You seriously believe him?" LeFou questioned, while Gaston stared at Riku in disbelief.

"Ya bet we do tubby!" Mushu nodded. Then, Riku turned to Gaston.

"And if you two are so sure he's not telling the truth, why don't you come with us and prove it?" The tone that Riku gave to Gaston was cold, as if he was offering the hunter a challenge. Gaston, in response pulled out a bow and arrow from behind his back and smirked at the silver-haired boy.

"Alright then, little man, I accept your challenge." Gaston said with a smirk, as the five of them exited the house and walked into the woods.

~*KH*~

Riku, Gaston, LeFou, Maurice and Mushu wandered through the woods for what seemed like forever. Maurice had been leading them into various directions, trying to avoid the hungry wolves. However, ever after all the time spent in the woods, Gaston still wasn't convinced.

"We've been walking around for hours," the hunter grumbled, "If this is some wild goose chase, old man you'll be sorry!" Mushu climbed down to Riku's shoulder and whispered in his ear,

"Can I bite his mouth off?" the dragon whispered while Riku raised an eyebrow.

"I doubt that would really help," the islander whispered back.

"We're here!" Maurice suddenly exclaimed, snapping Riku and Mushu out of their thoughts. Before the group was a tall iron gate with a dark, stone towering castle.

"Wow, now that's one creepy castle!" LeFou said in awe, earning him a punch in the arm from Gaston.

"I'm still not impressed, old man. How do you even know Belle's in there?" Gaston grumbled.

"I could never forget this place," Maurice sighed, "I could never forget what happened here."

"Okay then, let's go," Riku told the group as he pushed open the gates and they all walked inside. The inside of the castle was just as dark and gloomy as the outside. With a stone floor and dark chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The group took a moment to take this all in, until Mushu broke the silence.

"So, what do we do now?" the dragon asked.

"We'll cover more ground if we split up," Gaston said, "Me and the little man will hunt down the beast, LeFou and the old man will look for Belle," all the humans nodded and took off in separate directions. Gaston and Riku took off toward the West Wing, and Maurice and LeFou took the East Wing, leaving Mushu standing alone in the middle of the front hall.

"And where am I supposed to go?" the dragon said to himself before running after Riku and Gaston. The islander looked behind him and smirked at the small red dragon.

"What took you so long?" Riku asked jokingly.

"Excuse me for having short legs!" Mushu replied as he climbed up Riku's pant leg and onto his shoulder.

"Alright, little man," Gaston snapped towards Riku, as he readied his bow and arrow, "The beast is mine, so don't get in the way!" the hunter then turned his back towards the two and boldly marched towards the Beast's chamber. The halls were eerily quiet, so quiet that it sent a chill down Riku's spine. When they had finally reached the end of the hall, a dark door with a torn up rug on the floor and claw marks on the walls. Gaston opened the door, revealing a violently torn up room with a large furred and horned beast standing in front of a glowing rose. Gaston glared at the beast and got ready to fire his arrow. But, before he could, Riku stepped into the room and asked,

"Where's Belle?" Gaston gasped in shock at what Riku had said. The beast turned to look at the two intruders, but made no move to attack them. In fact, Riku thought he looked sad.

"She was taken by the shadows," the beast said in a rough, pained voice, "They came from the darkness, made me feel nothing but pain, and took her from here. There was nothing I could do to stop them. I will find her, and help save her." Riku gasped as the words of the beast set in and suddenly it all became clear to him. He remembered where he had seen Belle before; in the Hollow Bastion dungeons with the other princesses.

**PrismRain13: Well, that's that! I will try to update more often.**

**Gaston: Remember to review; come on ladies, you know you love me!**

**PrismRain13: *vomiting***


	8. Stars Blinking Out

**PrismRain13: yeah, I know "Shame on you Prism; making us wait this long!"**

**Beast: Why did you make us wait this long?**

**PrismRain13: *awkward silence* I own nothing, now on with the story! *runs away***

_**Chapter 8: Stars Blinking Out**_

Riku had wanted to say something, anything, but couldn't find his voice. The shock was still passing through his entire body; Belle was an innocent girl, who had been happy, until she was dragged away from her dad, then dragged away again by the heartless. Everyone in the room was silent for a moment, while Riku looked deep into the Beast's eyes. Those eyes didn't look like the eyes of a monster, they looked soft, filled with pain, like he actually cared for Belle and missed her. A pang of guilt suddenly hit Riku as he lowered Soul Eater. Mushu looked between Riku and the Beast, confusion spread across his face. The islander was about to say something to Gaston, but noticed the hunter looked even angrier than he was before. He had his arrow ready and aimed at the Beast's heart.

"Liar!" Gaston roared and was about to fire the arrow.

"No!" Riku shouted and shoved the hunter to one side as hard as he could, so that once the arrow was fired, it just barely missed the Beast, and hit the wall. The Beast looked at the arrow in shock and ran out the broken double doors and onto the roof, into the pouring rain. Gaston watched the beast escape, and then snarled at the young man.

"You rat," Gaston roared as he struck Riku across his face, the force knocking Riku to the ground and leaving a red gash across his cheek, "The Beast was right in my range; I had a clear shot and you just had to get in my way!"

"You back off you creep!" Mushu snapped as he ran towards Gaston, but he simply kicked the small dragon into the wall. Gaston then grabbed a hold of Riku's shirt and roughly pulled him up to his face, Riku was so close to Gaston's face that he could smell the hunter's meaty breath.

"You're going to pay for what you just did, kid; both you and your lizard!"

"I'm a dragon!" Mushu said from his position on the ground, but went ignored.

"I'm going after that Beast, and when I get back, you'll wish you were never born!" Gaston growled as he violently threw Riku down on the stone ground, kicked him in the ribs and ran after the Beast. Riku watched Gaston leave. The islander tried to push himself up to his knees, but the pain from where Gaston had kicked him was too intense.

"Riku?" a small voice asked as the young man looked up to find Mushu standing in front of him with a look of worry, "You feeling okay?" Riku slowly and painfully rose to be supported by his elbows and Mushu placed a comforting paw on Riku's shoulder, "Why'd you save the Beast?" Riku sighed before answering the small dragon.

"He just didn't seem like a monster to me," Riku said softly, "He seemed like someone who just lost what he loved the most. I didn't want to be responsible for taking his life, when me and the heartless are already responsible for taking Belle from him." Riku weakly stood to his feet and winced as he grasped his throbbing ribs, "I'll tell you one thing though, Mushu, I'm not going to let Gaston win here!" Riku then allowed Soul Eater to appear in his hands and strongly strode out to the balcony to where both the Beast and Gaston had left.

"Count me in, Riku!" Mushu said triumphantly, "Let's show that jerky hunter what we're made of!" the dragon followed Riku out onto the balcony and saw that it was pouring rain and neither Gaston nor the beast was in sight.

"COME ON OUT AND FIGHT!" the duo quickly turned around to the sound of Gaston's angry voice. They looked down on the many layers of roof and saw Gaston destroying stone gargoyles with pure rage plastered on his face. Mushu climbed onto Riku's shoulder as the young man slowly climbed down the balcony and onto the platform where Gaston was. "We're you in _love_ with her, Beast? What would make you think she'd want you? When she could have someone like me?" Gaston ranted.

"I can think of a number of reasons!" Riku snapped, causing the hunter to turn around. When his gaze fell upon the damp form of Riku, who was holding Soul Eater in a threatening way.

"You have no idea who you're dealing with, brat!" Gaston spat as he raised his bow and arrow, but before either one could do anything, Riku felt a strange, oily dark fluid on the bottom of his feet. All three of them looked down at the fluid in disgust, before Riku and Mushu realized that it was the same substance that had come out of the strange keyhole in the Land of the Dragons. Riku then looked back to the balcony, and realized that another keyhole was visible on the boken glass doors. The darkness was pouring out uncontrollably through the balcony, and on to the roofs of the castle and down to the ground.

"NO!" the three looked beside them and saw the Beast fighting the darkness and a large number of heartless, "I won't allow it to end like this! I will save Belle!" the Beast roared while Gaston aimed his arrow at the heatless.

"Back off! That's my prey!" Gaston shouted grabbing the heartless's attention. Then, the heartless abandoned the Beast, and charged toward Gaston and piled on top of him. Gaston howled in pain as the weather turned darker and more violent as some pieces of the castle were violently torn away.

_We've got to get out of here before this gets worse!_ Riku thought desperately as he dug around in his pocket for the crystal given to him by the strange figure, but his face instantly fell when he found nothing.

"Riku? What's wrong?" Mushu asked with concern.

"The crystal!" Riku exclaimed, "It's gone!"

"Looking for something?" a mocking voice asked from the balcony, the duo turned to find a figure in the familiar black coat holding the dark crystal, Riku was about to retort, until the figure held up his hand and a swirling orb of dark pink petals appeared in his hand, then he aimed it at Riku and Mushu, and the wind and petals hit the two with such an impact that it sent them flying into a nearby crumbling pillar. Riku panted heavily and he found it harder to stay awake, "Sweet dreams," the man said with a smirk under his hood as he jumped down from the balcony and began to walk towards Riku's unconscious form. However, before he could lay a hand on the boy, a dark shadow appeared in front of him, scooped up both the sleeping Riku and dragon, and then vanished in a burst of green flames, leaving the man in a very confused state.

~*KH*~

It was quiet it Traverse Town, especially in the secretly hidden fourth district. The fourth district was a place that only a few residents knew about and how to get to, and harboured a tall stone and wood tower which was home to a telescope so powerful, that the stars were seen as full worlds, and even gummi ships could be seen. Using this telescope at the moment was a tall man in his mid-twenties with unkept long, brown hair and a short sleeved black leather jacket with red angel wings printed on the back, while the rest of his muscular body supported several belts and an old scar was plastered right across his face. However, he would not remain alone for long.

"Hi Squall!" a perky, energetic voice rang throughout the tower as the man at the telescope sighed.

"For the last time, Yuffie, it's Leon," the man grumbled, turning to face a black-haired sixteen-year-old girl in green and yellow ninja-like attire.

"Whatever you say, Squall," Yuffie giggled, "Whacha doin' out here anyway?" Leon groaned at Yuffie's childish manner, and then turned his attention back to the telescope, where he saw a gummi ship leave a jungle-like world.

"I'm keeping an eye on Sora, Donald and Goofy," Leon replied, "They look like they're on their way back here.

"Why do you need to do that?" Yuffie asked, "Don't you trust them well enough to know that they can take care of themselves?"

"Donald and Goofy, yes," Leon replied, never taking his attention away from the telescope, "But Sora's just a kid, I remember when I was that young; I'm worried about him." Just then, Leon turned his attention to a nearby world that was covered in darkness, which concerned the man greatly, then, it vanished. Leon leaned back from the telescope in shock, another one? "Yuffie, another star just blinked out!" Leon said with slight panic in his voice, while the ninja only shrugged.

"Yea, a lot have been going lately, a few hours ago I saw one disappear when I was coming home from the Accessory Shop," the ninja replied.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?" Leon practically screamed at the young woman, "Yuffie, get together the rest of the resistance and meet me at headquarters, this is serious!" the man grabbed his gunblade from its position on the floor and practically jumped down the flight of stairs, leaving Yuffie in shock.

~*KH*~

Inside a large, white castle two black cloaked figures waited calmly. One was playing with a grey stack of cards and had short bleach blonde hair and a goatee; the other had long, black hair done in dreadlocks. Just then, a portal of darkness appeared in front of the two as a third figure, this one with their hood up, stepped in front of the two as the portal vanished.

"Well?" asked the man with the cards.

"I managed to knock him out, but the witch appeared and took him before I could get to him," the third man replied.

"I'm surprised you failed at such a simple task, Marluxia," the man with the dreadlocks groaned, "Aren't you always bragging about how you could wipe the floor with any of us?" The third man removed his hood to reveal a man with layered pink hair and bright blue eyes.

"Very amusing, Xaldin. However, it was not as failed a mission as you might think," Marluxia smirked as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the dark crystal he had stolen from Riku, "I have not figured out exactly what it is yet, but I assure you that Lord Xemnas will be pleased with my work."

~*KH*~

Meanwhile, back on Traverse Town, in a secret house in the third district, Leon and Yuffie were sitting around a round table with the members of the resistance. The other members included Aerith, Cid, Roger and Anita Radcliffe, Edna Mode, Merlin the wizard, Kim Possible and a young woman named Kyra who had a sleeping fox with an acorn charm around his neck on her lap.

"If more worlds keep disappearing, it can only mean that disaster can't be far behind," Merlin said thoughtfully.

"Yes, yes, we all know that is true, darling," Edna, a short woman with large glasses and garbed almost completely in black, "But the real question is, why is this happening?"

"I'm guessing it's that no good witch Maleficent again!" Kyra grumbled, "She's always been behind the worlds disappearing before!"

"Kyra, this is different," Anita said calmly as she and her husband held hands with concern, "Maleficent has never been able to access a keyhole that quickly before."

"She's right," Roger agreed, "Before a world would be inhabited by the heartless, until they found the keyhole a week later."

"Then, we need to figure out how she's finding those keyholes," Aerith said, "What's triggered them before?"

"I know that I've read somewhere that the Keyblade's supposed to find the keyholes," Kim replied, "But we've got the Keyblade's chosen on our side, it doesn't make sense."

"It doesn't have to make sense for you to be right, Kim," Leon told the teen hero, "Sora is on our side and should be locking the keyholes, but what if Maleficent found another keybearer?" the entire group gasped in shock. There was silence for a moment, until Cid spoke up,

"Well, looks like we're just gonna have to keep an eye out," the old man said, "In the meantime, everybody just go about yer business and we'll let ya know if something else happens." The group nodded as they all got up from their chairs and left the house. Kyra and Kim exited the house last and stayed in front of it to talk,

"I don't know what I'm going to tell the others back at the house," Kim sighed, there were other younger members to the resistance, but since Kim was the oldest out of the group, she attended the meetings.

"A lot of them have grown up a lot, Kim, you shouldn't worry too much," Kyra told her while her pet fox, Rusty sat down on the ground beside her, "They know that you look out for them, those kids have no reason not to trust you."

"I know, it's just that most of them don't really get the concept of 'stay away this is dangerous', you think they would have learned that after they lost their own worlds," Kim grumbled.

"How about I stick around for a few more days and help you keep an eye on them?" Kyra offered.

"You don't have to-"

"It's okay, I'm part of the resistance just as much as you are, besides it's been awhile since I've seen them."

**PrismRain13: So, to avoid confusion; Edna is from **_**Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles**_**, Anita and Roger are from**_** Disney's 101 Dalmatians,**_** Kim is from **_**Disney's Kim Possible**_** and Kyra is an OC from MysteryGirl. Remember to review! And in the next chappie, expect an OC of my own *smirk***__


	9. Different Perspectives

**PrismRain13: I know this is late, but HAPPY 10****TH**** ANNIVERSARY KINGDOM HEARTS!**

**Goofy: WHOOO! PARTY TIME!**

**PrismRain13: I still claim ownership of nothing other than the plot and my OCs! Nor do I own the **_**Danny Phantom**_** reference. Now on with the story...**

_**Chapter 9: Different Perspectives**_

Riku let out a soft breath as he slowly came out of unconsciousness. Thinking back, he remembered Beast's Castle falling into darkness, Gaston and the Beast struggling against it even though their efforts were useless. Then there was the black-cloaked figure, he had sent a heavy blow of wind and sharp rose petals towards him, then everything went black. The first thing he saw was a face, fuzzy, but the horns gave away who it was.

"Maleficent?" Riku said weakly as he slowly rose to a sitting position as his vision became more focused; he was lying on his bed in the room the witch had given him. Said witch was towering over him and Hades, Jafar, Ursula, Oogie Boogie and Captain Hook were all watching Riku closely like hawks.

"You gave us quite the scare little badger," Jafar said in a soothing tone. The young man looked at the villains with concern until Ursula grabbed his upper arm with her tentacle and forcefully lowered him back down onto the bed.

"What happened?" Riku asked as Maleficent stood up from her previous position, making Riku feel a lot less nervous.

"I was hoping you could tell us what you were doing on other worlds without telling one of us first!" Maleficent scolded, "Rest assured Riku that you are not a prisoner here, you are free to go when you see fit. However, I would think that after everything we've so graciously done for you that you would at least tell us! We were so worried about you that we had to send the heartless to find you!" Maleficent's words hit Riku like a ton of bricks, now that he tought about it he had been selfish to Maleficent and her group. They had taken him in when he had nowhere else to go, and were even looking for his friends.

"As for what happened before you went out," Hades continued, "Maleficent came in and saved your sorry butt before the creep could take off with ya!"

"I'm sorry!" Riku suddenly said, "I shouldn't have gone off without telling you, I just wanted to see what was out there."

"You are forgiven," Maleficent nodded as she bent down to Riku's level and began stroking his hair soothingly, reminding the young man of a simpler time, when his own mother used to do the same thing to him when he was sick. "I only simply wanted to tell you that we have successfully located your friend, Sora." At this statement Riku instantly jumped up to a sitting position again, excitement spread across his face.

"You found him? Where is he-" before Riku could go on Maleficent placed her fingers on Riku's mouth.

"Shh, he's alright. We discovered that he is currently on a world known as Traverse Town, and if you're feeling up to it, I can take you there-"

"Yes!" Riku interrupted, "I feel fine, just let me see him!"

"Alright, chill already little man!" Oogie snarled, "We'll let ya see your friend." The group then slowly began to exit Riku's room, until only Maleficent remained.

"Take a moment to gather what you need, then meet us in the castle chapel when you're ready to go," the witch instructed as she closed the door behind her. Riku got out of the bed, happy thoughts filling his head; Sora was okay! And that meant that he could come with him and they could look for Kairi together! And they could travel to other worlds together!

"Geez, nice group," a familiar voice interrupted Riku's thoughts. The islander turned around to find Mushu sitting casually on the bed.

"Mushu? How long have you been here?" Riku asked, "I thought Maleficent found you already." The small dragon shook his head.

"You kidding?" the dragon said, "I hid as soon as I heard them come in! Those people creep me out, why so you put up with them?"

"They took me in when I had nowhere else to go," Riku shrugged, "I kinda owe them. And, you heard them, they just found my friend."

"Well, what are ya waiting for?" Mushu grumbled, "Go on, and don't make me stop ya."

"You're not coming?" Riku asked.

"And suffer the old lady's wrath? Pass!" the dragon said as he grabbed a random book from the bookshelf and began reading.

"So, I'll see you when I get back?" Riku asked, but Mushu ignored him, "Mushu, I'm not abandoning you; when we go get Sora, we're both coming back. Then we're going to get Kairi too. I know you'd like them." Mushu looked up from the book he was reading and smiled back at Riku.

"Okay, man. I'll see ya when ya get back." Riku nodded toward the dragon and left the room, closing the door behind him. When Riku arrived in the dimly lit room, the Maleficent's council all looked at him with looks that made the young man uncomfortable. Maleficent walked over to him and lead him to the center of the room.

"I have to warn you, Riku; I have seen myself that Sora has been traveling with some fools, he may have forgotten about you already."

"No he wouldn't!" Riku defended, "I know Sora! That's not like him; he wouldn't replace me and Kairi!"

"Alright, if you're so sure," Maleficent chuckled, "And as a side warning, Traverse Town is known to be home to the Heartless Resistance, just be careful." As she finished talking, the witch raised her hand and a corridor of darkness appeared. Riku nodded his understanding, and without another word, walked through the swirling dark portal.

~*KH*~

As Riku exited the portal, he found himself standing in the middle of an alley. He heard a loud bark as he glanced down and saw a large yellow and black dog with a green collar staring up at him with his tongue hanging out, and almost looked like it was smiling.

"Sorry, I don't have time to play with you," Riku told the dog, but was completely unprepared when the dog jumped up on its hind legs and began frantically licking Riku's face. Riku couldn't stop himself from laughing and scratching the dog between the ears and notice that the dog's collar said 'Pluto' "Sorry boy, I don't have time to play with you," Riku said as he pushed Pluto back onto his two legs, then Riku walked out of the alley to find himself in Traverse Town's first district.

"You lost darlin'?" an accented-voice asked from behind him. Riku turned around to find a woman with curly shoulder-length brown hair, green eyes, wearing a loose white blouse, a long lacy green skirt and several gold bracelets and gold hoop earrings and had a black star-shaped tattoo under the corner of her right eye. She was standing in a small open restaurant and since she was cleaning the tables, Riku assumed she was a waitress.

"No, I'm okay," Riku said as politely as he could.

"Sure I can't help ya'll, pumpkin?" she asked, "How bou't I get ya something to drink, or-"

"LYDIA!" a voice boomed as a large Italian black man dressed in a purple shirt, navy vest, dark pants and a white apron stormed out of the restaurant's kitchen door, "stop being lazy and get back to work! I don't pay you to flirt with the stragglers!"

"Cool yer jets, Tony!" Lydia snapped back, "I'm working!" Tony just noticed Riku standing there and stepped up to him.

"You new around here, son?" Tony asked, "Anything you need."

"Like I told your waitress, I'm fine. But, is it true that there's a Heartless resistance?" Riku asked. Tony was about to answer, before Lydia spoke up,

"Don't even get me started on the heartless, sweet cheeks!" Lydia roared, "Those beasts think they can do whatever they want! It's cuz of them that we've all lost our worlds! Where am I from? None of your business!" and with that, Lydia violently threw her rag onto the ground and stormed into the kitchen. Tony and Riku were quiet for a minute, before Riku spoke up.

"Well, thanks for your help, but I better get going," Riku said as turned to walk away. Just then, a small white moogle flew past him, Riku looked at the creature with curiosity; it had to be the strangest things he'd ever seen. He was so memorized by the moogle that he didn't notice that he had run into someone. Riku looked in front of him to find a boy who couldn't be any older than nine. He had wild dark brown hair that peeked out from under a backwards, red baseball cap, freckles, a green baggy jacket, white t-shirt, jeans and red sneakers.

"Sorry," the kid said as he ran off towards the second district. Riku rolled his eyes at the boy, wondering where he was going in such a hurry, Riku then moved his hand towards his back pocket and noticed that his wallet was missing! That kid was a pickpocket! Riku let out a small growl as he ran after the kid. He pushed open the large double doors to the large area of the second district, and heard voices.

"TJ, you said you wouldn't steal anymore! What would Aerith say?" a feminine voice said. Riku looked over the edge and saw the boy he had run into talking to a girl around Sora and Kairi's age. Riku had to admit she was pretty cute. Her light brown hair was tied into two messy pigtails that reached past her shoulders. Her eyes were brown and her face was filled with freckles. She was dressed in a baggy green t-shirt, a grey shirt underneath, white kapris, white sneakers with yellow laces, and a grey hoodie was tied around her waist, while a yellow bandanna was around her neck.

"She's not gonna find out!" the boy, TJ defended, "besides, we need the munny!" the girl crossed her arms.

"Not unless I tell her," she smirked.

"C'mon!" TJ whined. Riku jumped down from his hiding spot, startling the boy.

"Give me back my munny, kid," Riku said. TJ hid behind the girl. She placed her hands on her hips.

"TJ, give the nice boy back his munny back," she said, TJ gave her a look that said "are you kidding me?" but, he stepped out from behind her and handed Riku back his wallet.

"Sorry," TJ whispered as he toed the ground.

"Thanks," Riku said.

"You new around here?" the girl asked. Before Riku could answer, she leaned in extremely close to his face as if she were examining him, "never saw you before, what's your name?"

"Riku," he answered as he backed away from her.

"Nice to meecha, Riku. I'm West and this is TJ," she said as she gave TJ a noogie. "Do you need a place to stay?" before Riku could answer, she spoke again, "great, cuz we have lots of room, we stay in this house with a bunch of other kids, c'mon," she grabbed Riku's wrist and dragged him towards the direction of their house.

**PrismRain13: Fun fact; Lydia's actually in KH1, I just gave her a name and personality.**

**Goofy: TJ's from Disney's **_**Recess**_**, and Tony's from Disney's **_**Lady and the Tramp.**_

**PrismRain13: I always wondered who ran that restaurant... remember to review!**


	10. The Heartless Resistance

**PrismRain13: Well, here's another chappie. Didn't take me long, did it?**

**West: Yes! I finally showed up!**

**PrismRain13: yeah, this story's going to be picking up more from this point forward.**

**West: Prism still owns nothing other than the plot and her OC's like me and Lydia. Got it?**

_**Chapter 10: The Heartless Resistance**_

Riku shifted uncomfortably in West's surprisingly strong grip. She and TJ were dragging him through the lit up area of the second district. TJ was smirking at the silver-haired teenager as if this was some form of entertainment for him. The islander couldn't really blame the kid, but he still didn't get why he needed to steal his wallet. Why did they need money?

"Look, West," Riku stammered as he tried to pry her hand off his wrist, "I appreciate this, really, but-"

"Don't be silly!" West smiled, "We take in kids who lost their worlds all the time; it's not a big deal!"

"Yeah, you'll fit in just fine!" TJ agreed, he looked like he was about to say something, when just then in a cloud of darkness appeared a group of large body, soldier and shadow heartless appeared in front of them. Riku looked at the heartless in surprise, was Maleficent watching him now? No, he couldn't be responsible for West and TJ getting attacked, they were innocent. Riku turned to the two to tell them to run, but Riku noticed that they didn't even look scared. They both looked at the heartless with intense hatred.

"You guys again!" West snarled, "When will you creeps get the message; we don't want you here!"

"C'mon West! Let's show them what we're made of, maybe then they'll get the message to stay out of our town!" TJ smirked with a confident look on his face.

"Couldn't have said it better myself Teej!" West nodded as they both drew weapons from behind their backs. TJ pulled out a basic wooden baseball bat and West drew a small silver knife with a black handle with a yellow ribbon wrapped around the handle. Then, they both ran straight into the fray of heartless without any fear. TJ used his bat and hit a wide variety of heatless that attacked him, but weren't able to lay a claw on him. Riku was surprised to see a kid that young have so much strength, but he noticed that West had a completely different battle strategy. She moved with such swift speed that the heartless didn't even notice when she slashed deep wounds and jumped on top of them and stabbed them. Riku watched the two fight the heartless with awe, it looked like they had a ton of experience fighting them, Riku just felt that he needed to know more about them, and this group they talked about. By this time West and TJ had finished their fight.

"Whew, is it me or are there more heartless showing up then usual?" West asked as she stretched. TJ was about to answer her, when Riku noticed a small shadow heartless coming out of the ground, eyeing West hungrily. Neither West or TJ seemed to notice the heartless, and just as it was about to jump onto West, Riku drew Soul Eater and slashed through the shadow, reducing it to nothing. Both West and TJ gazed at Riku in a mixture of shock and awe.

"Wow! That is such a cool sword!" TJ grinned.

"Uhh... thanks," Riku said, finding the kid to be becoming a little annoying, "So, do you guys fight the heartless a lot?"

"Yeah, they've been showing up a lot lately," TJ replied, "But, I'm not worried; the heartless resistance will take care of them! They always have before!"

"Yeah, the gross creeps don't stand a chance! But, we better get going," West said, "We were supposed to be back awhile ago." The two began walking on ahead, when Riku suddenly felt something sharp digging into his shoulder. Riku looked to his shoulder and almost drew his sword when he found a large black raven digging its claws on his shoulder. The raven then flew off his shoulder and into the shadows where Riku could make out the shape of a tall figure with horns on their head, Maleficent then brought her hand out of the shadows and made her finger move in a 'come here' gesture.

"Riku!" TJ's voice brought the islander out of his thoughts; he turned to find that they had both stopped to wait for him.

"Aren't you coming?" West asked hopefully, looking at him admirably, almost afraid he was going to run off.

"You guys go on ahead, I'll catch up," Riku told them while West and TJ just shrugged and began moving on. Slowly, Riku turned towards the direction the raven flew off to as Maleficent stepped out of the shadows, the raven sitting on her shoulder. "Okay, before you say anything, I know that this is basically what happened on the other worlds, but-"

"Riku!" Maleficent interrupted, "I want you to follow them." This statement left Riku speechless, as Maleficent sighed in annoyance, "In case you did not hear me; I want you to stay with them, but only for one night."

"But, why?"

"I'm sure you've heard of the Heartless Resistance by now," the witch explained, "They pose as a threat to me and all we've worked so hard to accomplish. You've seen how easily those two children had defeated the heartless sent to protect you," Riku was about to ask why she had sent heartless to 'protect' him when Maleficent then placed her arm around Riku's shoulders in a comforting sort of way, "Riku, dear, in the short amount of time that you have been with us, I have grown very attached to you. You know that I have no children of my own, and you are the closest thing I have to a son. And I would just be heartbroken if something were to happen to you." Riku slowly nodded his head, "And if you should decide to leave us and stay with Sora or this group of children, just keep in mind that I would miss you dearly."

"Okay," Riku replied, "So, any other reason you want me to stay with these kids instead of the Heartless Resistance?"

"I have reason to believe that this group may be directly linked to the Heartless Resistance," Maleficent said as she removed her arm from Riku's shoulders, "And seeing how that freckle-faced girl had just so generously opened their home to you, I strongly suggest that you take that chance. Sora should be around town tomorrow, only then you can leave them."

"I think I get it," Riku shrugged, "I'd better go catch up with them then,"

"Yes, please do," Maleficent nodded, "And don't forget, Riku, make sure to find something to tell me about the Heartless Resistance." The witch gave a small wave to the silver haired boy, before disappearing in a burst of emerald green flames. Riku watched her leave, before heading in the direction he saw West and TJ go. He turned a corner and saw the two leanded up against a brick wall near two doors; one a blue stained glass and one a plane wood.

"What was the hold up?" West questioned, "For a sec I thought you ditched us."

"I uhh... forgot my wallet," Riku said quickly, using the first excuse that came to mind.

"Well, I guess you wouldn't want someone taking it again," TJ shrugged as he toed the ground. West nodded as she opened the wooden door.

"Hey everybody! We're back!" West yelled enthusiastically as she lead Riku and TJ inside then locked the door behind her. The front room was an old, simple kitchen connected to a living room with a dark green couch, wooden coffee table and small TV with antennas. There were five people who turned to face them. Inside the kitchen, over the stove was a fifteen year old girl in a black dress that was decorated with several belts with a skirt that was open in the front, revealing black kapris and black dress shoes. Sitting at the kitchen table working on a blueprint was a twelve year old boy with stick-straight-up blond hair, blue eyes and round glasses. He was wearing a white t-shirt with a blue sweater vest and red shorts. Also sitting at the table was a fifteen year old boy with long, red hair tied in a ponytail wearing a cowboy hat and a long trench coat. Sitting on the couch in front of the TV were a sixteen year old red-haired girl in a black shirt and green cargo pants, and a thirteen year old blond boy with a strange black tattoo on one side of his face and a short-sleeved jacket decorated with blue flames on the sleeves. "This is Riku," West continued, "he lost his world too, so let's be nice to him!" The red-head girl got up from the couch and shook Riku's hand.

"Nice to meet you, Riku, I'm Kim Possible," she said, "That's Lulu, Lewis, Irvine and Zell," each waved as their names were called. "You can bunk with Lewis tonight," she pointed to the boy with glasses. Riku turned to West.

"So, are any of you related?" He asked.

"Nope," West said in her perky fashion, "But we did all loose our homes to the heartless. Leon and the guys from the resistance check in on us every now and then, but we mostly take care of ourselves. So, I think we're like a family,"

"So, were'd you pick up this straggler up?" Irvine asked as he stood up from the table.

"We met him when I stole his wallet," TJ told him.

"TJ!" Kim scolded, "I thought you weren't going to steal anymore!"

"Don't worry about it, Kim," West stepped in, "I already took care of it. So, what science project did Lulu cook up this time?" Lulu sighed in annoyance and turned away from whatever she was cooking.

"West, if you don't like my cooking all you have to do is tell me," Lulu said calmly.

"We did, many times, but someone is a little too sensitive!" Zell said in a cocky tone from his position on the couch. Lulu's cheeks puffed up in anger as she walked up to Zell and got right into his face with a look of anger on her face, and Zell let out a small gulp of fear.

"Too sensitive, am I?" Lulu questioned dangerously. Irvine walked over to Riku and whispered in his ear,

"Piece of advice, dude; never get Lulu upset with you!"

"I'll keep that in mind," Riku nodded. Lewis, who was still at the table, rolled up his blueprint and placed it with a pile of others on the table, suddenly becoming interested in the conversation.

"Can't we just go to Tony's for supper again?" TJ whined.

"Because you beg to go there every time I make dinner," Lulu snapped.

"Come on, Lulu," Lewis said as he stood up from the table, "it's not that big of a deal, and Tony doesn't get too many customers nowadays, just think of it as helping a friend out. Plus, I doubt that your cooking's even been hazard tested," Lulu looked at Lewis with a sour expression over his last comment, but thought over his argument for a moment before replying,

"Alright, but it's only fair that the new guy gets a vote," Lulu said as she turned over to Riku and the rest of the group looked at him too which made Riku feel a little uncomfortable.

"Well, judging by what everyone else already said, I'd like to go to Tony's." Riku replied. The entire group minus Lulu erupted into shouts of victory and West wrapped her arms tightly around Riku's body, beaming with happiness.

"I knew you had great taste!" West said perikilly as they all left the house and made their way back to the first district. When they got there, Riku noticed that they stopped right in front of the restaurant where Riku had met Lydia, who was standing in front of the restaurant looking at her nails. But, when she saw the familiar group, she instantly perked up.

"Well, if it ain't my best customers!" Lydia beamed, "Step right up darlin's!" Lydia led them over to a nearby table and finally noticed Riku, "Hey pumpkin! Don't think I got your name."

"It's Riku," the silver-haired boy replied.

"Nah, I think I'm gonna stick with pumpkin," Lydia laughed as she took out a notepad, "The usual for ya'll?"

"Got that right, Lyd," Irvine said in a flirty tone while West giggled at him, "and how 'bout a kiss and your number?" Lydia laughed at Irvine's effort, pulled off his cowboy hat and ruffled his hair.

"Irvine, darlin', that never gets old," she said as she placed his cowboy hat back on, "But as I've said before; I'm a bit too old for ya. So, for ya pumpkin?" Lydia said as she turned to Riku.

"Um, just some coffee," Riku replied. Lydia nodded as she assumed the 'usual' for everyone else. Riku then turned to the group, "so, what's the deal with her?" he asked.

"Lydia's just a complicated person," Kim replied while TJ was trying to blow out the candles, but having no success, "She came from this world that was ruled by this guy that treated her kind like cockroaches."

"Yeah, she's even said that even if her world does come back that there's no way that she'd go back," West added,

"So what is she?" Riku asked, having no idea what the awnser could possibly be.

"You seriously haven't noticed? She's a gypsy." Lewis said in a definite 'duh' tone, "fortune teller, dancer, entertainer, magic user the whole nine yards! And she's been pretty out of it emotionally because her boyfriend broke up with her a month ago."

"Who's her boyfriend?" Riku asked.

"Don't know, never seen him," West replied, "But Lydia did tell us that he's part of this organization that was interested in hearts or something. I think they were called Organization 12. And they only found out about Lydia just before they broke up! Apparently they all wear black coats, and have 'minions' which Lyd thought was cool,"

"And what's the deal with this Heartless Resistance I've been hearing about?"

"You sure ask a lot of questions for a newcomer," Lulu said in a sour tone and glared at him with her red eyes.

"Lighten up already, Lulu," Zell told her then turned back to Riku, "The Heartless Resistance is an organization put together by the first people who lost their homes to the heartless. And as more survivors of heartless attacks came to Traverse Town, more people joined, we're part of it! We also have access to the secret fourth and fifth districts that only we know how to get to! So, we have meeting places all over, and since we're part of the resistance, we need to know how to fight." Lulu was holding her head as if she had a headache,

"Zell, I think you just set a record for most secrets spilled at once," she groaned.

"I have to agree, these are resistance secrets!" Kim agreed. Zell sighed in defeat but West continued sharing.

"We all have the same goal in mind; destroy the heartless forever! Now, that we have the Keyblade's chosen on our side we can say goodbye to the heartless!" when Riku gave her a look of confusion, she giggled, "It's said to be the only weapon that can permanently put an end to the heartless. Now, he's joined the resistance. What was his name again, Sora?" Riku let out an unnoticeable gasp of shock as he realized that he and Sora were on opposing sides. He didn't want to believe it, but he'd just have to wait until tomorrow to find out for sure. Just as Lydia arrived with their food.

**PrismRain13: In case you missed it, Lydia's boyfriend is from Organization XIII. Can you guess who? Can you guess what world Lydia's from? Hint: it's in kh3d.**

**West: Irvine and Zell are originally from **_**Final Fantasy VIII,**_** Lulu's from **_**Final Fantasy X**_**, and Lewis is from **_**Disney's Meet the Robinson's.**_

**PrismRain13: The odd duo; sorry if i made Riku seem a little OOC, i'll try to fix that but thanks for telling me :) and, Riku _is_ hot! Don't try to deny it! this has been your friendly neighbourhood nerd, Prism. Leave a review!**


	11. Earning Trust

**PrismRain13: Well, I just finished watching the entire walkthrough of **_**The World Ends With You. **_**I really liked it! Now, I feel tempted to go find some Player Pins :)**

**Zell: Yeah, that game rocks! Now, I know why it was chosen for the honour of being in the Kingdom Hearts series.**

**PrismRain13: You're a gamer?**

**Zell: Yeah how can I not be! Prism does not claim ownership of anything she writes about other than the plot and her OC's.**

_**Chapter 11: Earning Trust**_

Riku sat in silence, slowly drinking his coffee while the group around him were engaged in their own conversations. So, he and Sora were currently on opposite sides. Did Sora know about what he was doing? And what about what Maleficent had told him? Did Sora really replace him and Kairi? Riku didn't want to believe it, but what if it was true?

"Hey, earth to Riku!" TJ's voice snapped Riku out of his thoughts, as the silver-head turned to the nine-year-old, "I asked you what world you came from." The entire group turned to look at him, making Riku feel slightly uncomfortable.

"I uhh... came from an Island world," Riku said quietly, not wanting to get into full detail about his life.

"You seem a little out of it, are you okay?" West asked.

"Yeah, I just have a lot on my mind," Riku replied as West shrugged and went back to eating her pork ramen (1). Just then, Lydia came up to their table.

"How's everything here?" She asked.

"Better than Lulu's cooking that's for sure," Zell replied with his mouth full of his hotdog, while Lulu grumbled something about Zell's manners.

"Well, I'd hate to cut yer meal short, darlin's but Leon came by with a mission for y'all," then, Lydia pulled a folded up note from behind her and handed it to Kim. Riku wondered why she handed it to Kim for a minute, before Riku noticed that Kim was actually older than everyone else. Kim unfolded the paper and began to read it.

"Sweet! Been awhile since we got a mission!" Irvine beamed as Lydia cleaned away their dishes. As Kim finished reading the paper, she stood up from the table and placed the paper in one of the pockets of her cargo pants.

"Mission says we're supposed to look for a big heartless in the fifth district; must be a handful if Leon wants all of us to go," Kim simply said as everyone stood up from the table.

"Alright!" West said perkily as she grabbed Riku's arm, "Now with Riku kicking butt with us this mission will be a piece of cake!" Riku quivered uncomfortably, finding the freckle-faced brunette to be becoming a little too clingy. At the sound of West's words, Lulu's head instantly snapped up and she roughly pulled Riku out of West's arms and forcefully sat him back down in one of the chairs in the restaurant.

"Oh, no no no!" Lulu said sternly, "Snowy locks is staying right here where Lydia can keep an eye on him." Lydia then walked back up to them with a gold and purple purse on her shoulder and a shocked expression on her face.

"Darlin' my shift just ended!" Lydia exclaimed,

"Then you'll just have to bring him back to your place!" Lulu commanded, "I don't want an outsider wandering around town by himself!"

"Umm... I'm right here," Riku said quietly, but he went ignored by the two arguing girls. Zell, who was standing right beside him, put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Don't feel bad, man, Lulu's like that with everyone who's new," Zell said with a smile on his face.

"Makes me feel a lot better," Riku grumbled under his breath. By that time, Lydia and Lulu had concluded their argument with everyone awaiting the chosen course of action.

"Okay, Riku's going to go with Lydia to her apartment, while the rest of us are going to go to the fifth district to take care of the heartless," Lulu said. Lydia turned to Riku and placed a hand on his shoulder, urging him to come with her.

"Come on, pumpkin, let's get goin'," Riku stood up from his seat and watched the group of seven start to head towards two large wooden double doors beside the restaurant. West looked back and the two locked eyes for a brief moment as she waved to him. However, that small moment ended when Lulu grabbed West's wrist and began dragging her away with them and briefly giving Riku a cold glare. Riku didn't understand what Lulu had against him, and was so hung up on the thought, that he didn't even notice Lydia leading him into an old wooden apartment building. He and Lydia climbed up several flights of old beige-carpeted stairs until they reached the top floor. Lydia pulled a key out of her purse and opened the nearest door. She led Riku into a messy-looking apartment with a crystal ball on the coffee table along with several colourful sashes and cards scattered everywhere. But, what really caught Riku's eye was an old newspaper picture of a stern-looking old man wearing dark formal-like clothing, and had several darts set into the picture.

"Who's that guy?" Riku wondered out loud.

"A real jerk of an old man, that's what he is!" Lydia snapped as she threw her purse down on the carpeted floors and picked up a handful of darts from the coffee table, "Judge Frollo; I ever see that filthy creep again, I'll curse him into next year!" And with that, Lydia began throwing her darts at the picture, hitting directly in the centre of the eye with the first dart. Riku watched her for what felt like a really long time, throwing the same darts at the same picture over and over again. And noticed that she was giving off a strong, powerful aura of anger and hatred; darkness. By that time Lydia had appeared to have gotten bored and flopped down on the couch beside Riku.

"Bored with your darts?" Riku asked rhetorically, "I never thought that it would be your thing, but I guess since you don't plan on getting your world back-"

"Just cuz I don't plan on going back doesn't mean I plan on giving up who I am!" Lydia retorted, "I'm still a gypsy, but every time I think of that no good piece of dirt I lose it!" Lydia's cheeks puffed red with anger, until Riku spoke again as a desperate attempt to calm her down,

"So, you can really see into the future, read palms and all that stuff?" the islander asked, as Lydia calmed down.

"Can I? Sweetheart, I'm an expert!" the gypsy bragged, "If ya like, I can read yours!" Riku shrugged,

"Sure, not like I'm doing anything,"

"Nice, that'll be two hundred munny," Lydia said with a completely straight face.

"You're charging me?" Riku questioned.

"Despite what people may think, Tony's a great guy, but he don't pay very well. Girl's gotta make a livin' somehow," Lydia explained while Riku sighed, reached into his wallet, pulled out the munny and handed it to the gypsy. She then took Riku's hand, motioning for him to sit down on the opposite end of the coffee. Then, she pulled off Riku's glove and began examining the lines on the inside of his hand, "Well, let's see what we got here; you're dependent on yourself, not very trusting to strangers, ya have yer mind set on a goal and will go to any lengths to see this person again and ya got some growing internal conflicts," Lydia then put down Riku's hand and placed her hands on the crystal ball. "In yer future I see a growing darkness; many troubles and pain in your near future. So many emotions; betrayal, confusion, worry, suffering. But, I see a light at the end of the tunnel, hang on to what's most important to you to guide you out of the darkness. Now, I see someone ya recently met; you will at first dislike this person, but their actions will become part of what will keep ya from falling in the darkness. This person will for you scarfifce-" Lydia was about to continue, when the apartment door burst open and a young woman with long, black hair with a red streak dressed in dark clothing and a yellow sun-shaped necklace and a small fox walking along beside her.

"Lydia," she started to say, but the gypsy interrupted her.

"Kyra, girl, don't ya'll know how ta knock? I was in the middle of-"

"That can wait! Have you seen Kim and her team?" Kyra questioned.

"They left to fight some heartless in the fifth district. Why?" Riku asked as he and Lydia stood up from their seated positions.

"I called in to check on them and it sounded like they were having a hard time; Kim was trying to talk to me on her kimmunicator, but I lost connection with her and I think I heard someone screaming before the line went dead." Kyra told them.

"We have to go down there and help them out!" Riku stated while Kyra turned to him and raised an eyebrow.

"West and TJ found him in the second district," Lydia quickly explained.

"Look," Riku sighed, "We're not going to just sit here and let that heartless finish them off are we? I know how to fight the heartless; let me go help them!" Riku protested.

"You think we're going to grant a complete stranger access to Heartless Resistance territory? You're thinking wrong, kid," Kyra growled.

"Kyra snap out of it!" Lydia retorted, "Right now, we don't have much choice; we're both tired and won't be much help against anything. But Riku just might what we need right now!" Kyra sighed in defeat as she ran her fingers through her hair,

"Okay, fine," Kyra grumbled as she turned to Riku, "But I swear if anything happens to those kids, you'll regret it!" she then reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a yellow key card and handed it to the silver-haired teenager, "That will grant you access to all the Resistance areas. You go through the doors beside Tony's restaurant, and then you'll get to the fourth district. Then, look for an underground tunnel that will lead you to the fifth district. After that, they shouldn't be too hard to find." Kyra explained.

"Thanks," Riku nodded as he ran out the apartment and ran into the streets of the first district. As soon as Riku saw the door that Kyra had talked about, he pulled out the key card and waved it in front of the door, the wooden doors burst open and Riku quickly ran through them, but the young man was completely oblivious to Maleficent standing on the roof of Lydia's apartment building, an evil smirk present on her lips and her raven sitting on her shoulder.

"Everything is going exactly according to plan," the witch smirked as she vanished in a burst of green flames.

~*KH*~

The fourth district was something Riku had never expected; It was much more colourful and had a brightly coloured coliseum along with an out of place wooden and brick tower that seemed to harbor a telescope.

_Now where's that tunnel..._ Riku thought as he began to quickly move throughout the district.

"Lost, are we?" a voice asked from behind him. Riku turned around to find a young man around his age with wavy dirty blond hair dressed in a grey button-up shirt, black pants and white shoes. "Not that I blame you, it is easy to get lost here,"

"Who are you?" Riku asked.

"The name's Yoshiya Kiryu, but mother and father call me Joshua," he replied.

"Look, I'm in a bit of a hurry, so,"

"You're looking for the seven kids who went after that heartless, right?" Joshua smirked, "The tunnel's on the other side of the coliseum, but I'd hurry before that fight gets any worse. And you might want to take this," Joshua reached into his back pocket and pulled out a potion and handed it to the islander.

"Thanks," Riku gave a quick nod before darting toward the direction he told him to go, Joshua watched Riku leave for a moment, before walking back in the direction he came. Until four more people came into view, the first had orange spiky-hair and was wearing black and blue headphones and matching clothes. The second was a red-haired girl wearing cute fashioned designed clothes and holding a homemade stuffed cat. Another was wearing a black hat with a skull on it and holding a skateboard. The last was a girl who looked a few years younger than everyone else and had a similar clothing style to the boy with the skateboard and had a bell necklace around her neck.

"What was that all about?" the boy with the headphones asked, "Since when do you care about other people?"

"I might ask you the same thing, Neku," Joshua smirked, "I didn't see you lifting a finger,"

"Cut it out already, you guys, don't we have a mission to finish?" the girl with the cat plush interrupted, "Do you guys want to get erased or something?"

"Shiki's right," the young girl replied, "We need to keep moving if we're going to win this game!" Joshua laughed softly and crossed his arms

"You really think I told that kid where the kids and the heartless were for no benefit?" Joshua smirked.

"Yo! Whacha playin' at, man?" The boy with the skull hat snarled as he raised his fists while Joshua continued to laugh, "Ya got somethin' ta say? Whatchu laughin' at?"

"Neku, Shiki, Rhyme, Beat, didn't any of you pay attention to what the mission mail said? It said to take out the heartless in the fifth district. Now, I'm not one to get my hands dirty, so-"

"You planned it out so that group would take it out for us!" Neku accused angrily, "You make me sick sometimes Joshua!"

"But, Neku, he does have a point," The young girl, Rhyme said quietly while the teenagers turned to look at her, "Did you guys see the size of that thing? It doesn't want to be beaten. I don't agree with making others do our missions for us, but right now, we don't have much choice. That heartless won't lose to anyone but Riku, and we're running out of time," Neku, Shiki and Beat nodded their understanding as the four of them looked at the palms of their hands and saw a red timer ticking down from twenty minutes.

~*KH*~

The tunnel that Riku was running in was completely different than the last part of Traverse Town he had seen. It was completely made of concrete, had small amounts of litter on the ground and several graffiti markings on the walls. When he had finally made it out of the tunnel, Riku found himself in a small area with several green flags with the number 5 on them and a wall that was covered in graffiti art by some person named "CAT". Soul Eater instantly appeared in Riku's hand in a flash of dark clouds as he frantically looked around the space.

"West! TJ! Kim! Irvine! Lewis! Zell! Lulu! Where are you guys?" Riku called. Just then, Riku heard a girly squeal coming towards him. The islander didn't even have time to turn around before a body collided with him and sent them both flying straight into the graffiti-wall. Riku moaned in pain and looked down to find that it was a beaten and bruised West who had just been attacked. "Oh, my god!" Riku exclaimed as he gently pulled her up to a sitting position and brushed her messy bangs out of her face, "West, are you okay?"

"What are you doing here?" Riku turned around to find Lulu, Kim, Irvine and Zell running up to him with weapons in hand. Lulu was holding a moogle plush, Irvine held a long gun, Kim had her fists barred and was holding a grapple hook that looked like a hair dryer and Zell had his fists garbed in fingerless gloves with metal knuckles.

"Lydia and Kyra sent me to help you guys out," Riku replied, "Where's TJ and Lewis?"

"They're both knocked out," Zell explained, "This thing just doesn't want to die!" As if right on cue, a giant roar was heard as a giant bull-like heartless jumped in front of them. Its fur was dark red while its horns were black and had seemed to grow into snake-like whips. In its eight arms were several different swords and was dressed in red/orange armour, cape and feathered helmet. On the front of its armour was the heartless symbol and had piercing yellow eyes.

"Look out!" Kim exclaimed, "Gilgamesh is back! (2)" the four remaining team members plus Riku all stood in front of the heartless with weapons drawn as Gilgamesh began to slash at them with its swords as the team jumped out of the way. Zell tried to get a good punch in, but couldn't get close enough without getting at least a deep cut on the arm. Lulu stayed at a safe distance and used her moogle plush to cast a wide variety of magic at her target. Gilgamesh however quickly noticed this and attacked her. Irvine was having a little success in firing bullets at the heartless, but had little to no time to dodge as one of the swords came flying towards him, but luckily Riku pulled him out of the way. Kim fired her grapple gun at Gilgamesh's legs, but the rope was soon cut and then Kim was sent colliding into Zell. Riku reached into his pocket and glanced at the potion he had gotten from Joshua, and then looked over at the unconscious West. As a desperate attempt, Riku darted over to her, uncorked the bottle and poured the contents down her throat. As soon as the bottle was empty, West's eyes began to flutter open,

"Riku?" she asked weakly as she began to sit up, "We can't beat it; it's too strong,"

"It wouldn't be if it didn't have all those swords," Riku grumbled, "If only we could just take them away from it..."

"Riku! You're a genius!" West beamed as she tightly hugged him, "That's it! We just need to take away its swords!"

"Okay, but how are we going to do that?" Riku asked, West only smirked and took out her knife,

"You're talking to a professional thief here; just leave it to me!" And with that, West immediately jumped up and ran straight on up to the heartless. Trying not to make herself noticed, West pulled out her knife and wasting no time, stabbed one of Gilgamesh's hands and pulled away one of his swords. Gilgamesh howled in pain and before he knew it, West had stolen another sword. She then quickly threw both swords to Kim and quickly yelling, "Put them somewhere where it can't get them!" Kim nodded before handing a sword to Zell and the two of them opened up a sewer drain and threw the swords inside. Lulu and Irvine seemed to have gotten the message and quickly caught two more swords that West had stolen, and then threw them into the sewer drain. West then stole another sword and threw them to where a newly awakened but still weak Lewis and TJ caught them, and disposed of them like the others. Now, with only two swords left, West and Riku stood strongly in front of it as Riku slashed at its legs, causing Gilgamesh to let out howls of pain as it dropped its last two swords. One was caught by West, the other by Riku and the two swords were quickly stowed in the sewer. Gilgamesh stood in disbelief as Riku raised Soul Eater and stabbed the heartless through its chest; right through the heartless symbol. Gilgamesh let out a final cry of pain, before fading into darkness and a pink crystallized heart flying into the sky. Riku and West let out exhausted sighs of relief as the six others moved over to them.

"Well, I'm glad that's finally over!" Irvine sighed.

"West, where'd you get the idea to steal its swords?" Lewis beamed as Kim handed him and TJ more potions.

"It was Riku's idea!" West beamed, "Couldn't have thought of it without him!"

"Awesome work, Riku!" Zell congratulated, "You are officially the coolest person ever!"

"Yeah, thanks for the help," Kim managed a small smile.

"Can we go home now?" TJ whined, "I'm tired,"

"Yeah, let's call it a night," Irvine agreed as he placed a hand on Riku's shoulder, "Thanks for saving our butts dude," everyone immediately burst into cheers and began walking back to the direction of their house. Only Lulu stayed behind; the only one who didn't cheer for Riku.

"Something's not right," Lulu said quietly to herself, "Why would that heartless just disappear after _one_ attack from Riku? That boy's up to something and I'm going to find out what!" dismissing the thoughts for now, Lulu ran to catch up with her group.

**PrismRain13: Wow, long chappie! YES! NEW RECORD!**

**Zell: just to let you guys know Neku, Joshua, Shiki, Beat and Rhyme are from the video game **_**The World Ends With You**_**.**

**PrismRain13: Have to celebrate the awesomeness somehow, right? And the fourth and fifth district I tried to make the same as what we're supposed to see in KH3D, but I don't know how successful I was. Remember to read and review!  
>Koko: I hadn't thought about it much but I guess you're right. That'll probably show up later on.<br>The Odd Duo: Nope, not Luxord! And, MysteryGirl, would it be okay if I posted artwork of Kyra on my Deviantart profile sometime in the future? You'll be credited.**

**(1): a Japanese noodle dish with pork or beef.**

**(2): inspired by a reoccurring summon/enemy in the **_**Final Fantasy **_**series.**


	12. A Bitter Reunion

**PrismRain13: Well, I'm pretty excited for this chapter. Hope you guys like it. 50 reviews? You guys are the best reviewers ever!**

**Donald: Prism owns nothing other than the plot and her OC's like West and Lydia. And Kyra is an OC that belongs to MysteryGirl7Freak! Prism just got permission to use her.**

_**Chapter 12: A Bitter Reunion**_

Meanwhile, on a distant, dark world in a clean science lab in the middle of a tall magestic silver castle. Five members of Organization XII were gathered around as a member with long, dark blond hair and green eyes was examining the dark crystal stolen from Riku.

"What do you make of it, Vexen?" Luxord questioned.

"I would advise you to respect my superiority," Vexen grumbled in annoyance without looking at the gambler, "As I am number IV and you are number X. But, to awnser your question; this crystal does seem to posses an intense ammount of dark travel magic. Designed to enhance the users darkness in order to create a corridor of darkness."

"So basically it's useless to us," Axel grumbled from his position on the wall, "nice work petal-head," Marluxia shot Axel a scowl, but turned to Xemnas, who was standing beside Vexen and had a look of disaproval towards Marluxia.

"While the item itself is of no use to us, it does inform us of how Riku has managed to travel between worlds. Now, without it the witch will have to resort to transporting the boy herself, which will make it much easier to track him down," the pink-haired man explained to the group. Xemnas appeared to be deep in thought about what Marluxia had said, then came up with an answer,

"Marluxia does prove a point, with us tracking Maleficent, Riku will be much simpler to find," Xemnas said simply as he then turned to Luxord and Axel, "tell the rest of the Organization what you've learned and begin monitoring the worlds for activity from Maleficent," The two members nodded and exited the lab, shortly followed by Marluxia and Xemnas. Vexen watched them leave and followed, but not before placing the crystal in his cloack pocket.

~*KH*~

Riku was having a really hard time trying to sleep that night. Not because of the weird dreams he had been having lately, but because Lewis wasn't exactly an ideal roomate. It was nearing one in the morning according to the digital clock on the bedside table, but Lewis showed no sign that he was even tired. Ever since they both went up for bed, Lewis had been sitting at the wooden desk hammering, sawing and welding away on some new invention so loudly that it was a wonder none of the neighbours had complained. Riku groaned from his position on the bottom bunk, sat up and gared at the twelve year-old,

"Don't you ever sleep?" Riku snapped crankilly, "Believe it or not, some of us actually need it!" Lewis turned his attention away from his invention towards Riku, still holding the screwdriver in his hand.

"You know there are some noise-cancelling headphones under your pillow, right?" Lewis said simply as he turned back towards his work. Riku raised an eyebrow at Lewis's comment, but pulled away the pillow anyway. And sure enough, sitting there were a pair of dark grey headphones.

"Sorry," Riku said quietly as he pulled the headphones out. Lewis shook his head and managed a small smile,

"Don't worry about it, TJ forgets about them too," the blond replied, after seeing the confused look on the islander's face, Lewis began to explain, "He's supposed to be my roomate, but he decided that we weren't compatable as roomates." Riku was about to ask what he meant before a loud, shrill scream was heard, causing Riku to jump,

"What the heck was that?" Riku gasped before Lewis walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Relax, it's just West; she suffers from night terrors," Lewis explained as the screaming stopped.

"Does that happen a lot?" Riku asked.

"A few times a week. Don't even try talking to her about it, the only person that can comfort her is TJ. He gets nightmares too; not as severe as West does but they always end up comforting eachother." Lewis said casually, "Between me working late on my inventions and TJ's bad dreams, we eventually decided that TJ would be more comfortable sleeping on the couch with West coming down whenever either of them get nightmares, leaving Kim and Lulu to sleep in peace." Riku nodded his understanding as Lewis moved back to his invention on the desk.

"So, does that mean that Irvine and Zell share a room?" Riku asked.

"Yeah, they get along okay, mostly because they came from the sane world and showed up here at the same time." Lewis replied, "We've all had it rough; we've all lost something important to us along with our worlds, and we all want our homes back," Lewis immediately stopped talking and turned back towards his desk, Riku could have sworn he saw a small tear fall down the boy's cheek. The silver-head decided not to push it so he slipped on the noise-cancelling headphones and lay down on the bed. Before the islander knew it he had fallen into a rare dreamless sleep.

It seemed like only a few minuites of sleep, but when Riku opened his eyes again the digital clock read nine the morning. Riku streached and climbed out of the bottom bunk. Looking around the space he found that Lewis had already left, so Riku changed out of the navy pyjama pants borrowed from Irvine and back into his usual clothes. As soon as Riku was changed he moved out of the room and down to the kitchen. When he got down there, the first thing he noticed was West and TJ curled up on the couch together, both fast asleep, dressed in their pyjamas and had an old blanket on top of them. TJ's pyjamas were basic flannel and coloured pale blue while West's were a short-sleeved green nightgown with yellw short shorts and baggy grey socks. Riku couldn't help but manage a small smile looking at them.

"Are you done staring?" a voice asked from behind him. Riku turned around to find Lulu standing there in a lacey black nightgown with matching slippers and a fluffy dark grey housecoat and holding her moogle plush to her chest. Her long black hair was tangled and hung loosely around her pale face.

"I wasn't staring, was I?" Riku asked nervously while Lulu shrugged.

"You could have been, what do I know?" Lulu poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table, never taking her red eyes off Riku, "So, Riku, very impressive move on the heartless last night. One blow; I don't think I've ever seen anyone do that to a heartless that size."

"Just lucky I guess," Riku's voice quivered a little as he tried to avoid eye contact with the mage.

"Oh, I don't think luck had anything to do with it," Lulu smirked. But, before she could say anything else, the front door opened and Lewis walked in carrying a large cardboard box just as Kim, Zell and Irvine came from thier bedrooms.

"Anything to eat?" Zell asked as he looked around the kitchen.

"There are still some eggs left over from yesterday morning," Kim replied as she sat down next to Lulu.

"Boring," Zell grumbled. Lewis rolled his eyes as he placed the box on the table and pulled out Kim's grappling hook and Irvine's gun from the night before.

"Well, it took me most of the night and a early morning stop at the moogle's synthesis shop, but it's finally done!" Lewis stated prowdly.

"Hang on, I gotta wake up the two lazy heads," Irvine said as he stepped over to the sleeping West and TJ. Irvine smirked before letting in a deep breath and shouting, "WAKE UP!" at the sound of Irvine's voice both West and TJ sceamed in shock and fell off the couch and clumsily landed on top of each other. Irvine burst into laughter while the two victims glared at him.

"I hate it when you do that," TJ grumbled as he and West staggered to their feet.

"I swear, Irvine, one of these days I'm gonna get you back!" West pouted while Irvine only laughed,

"Yeah, that's what you always say, piggy," Irvine laughed. Lewis snickered a little behind his hand then handed Kim and Irvine their weapons.

"So, the system's fixed, and I added a few upgrades including a dark energy tracker," Lewis explained as Kim and Irvine examined their new upgraded weapons.

"Awesome work as usual," Kim praised, "You rock, Lewis,"

"You didn't happen to get Lydia or Kyra's phone numbers for me while you were down there, did you?" Irvine asked.

"Give it up already, Irvine, neither one of them like you," West scolded as Zell nodded in agreement as he wolfed down his toast. Riku stood on the sidelines and watched Irvine and West argue, but that was soon interupted when he heard a tapping noise coming from the window. Riku turned to find Maleficent's raven tapping at the window with its beak. As soon as he saw that Riku had seen him, he flew off. Realization suddenly hit Riku that Maleficent had said that he was only going to stay with this group for one night. He looked towards the group of seven and noticed that they weren't paying any attention to him. As quitely as he could, Riku moved towards the door, grasped the doorknob and quietly exited the house. As soon as he was outside Riku noticed that it was still dark outside and that the raven was flying in front of him. The raven then began to fly away and Riku followed it. The raven led him to the top of the gizmo shop where a large bell was borded up. Maleficent was standing there, overlooking the second district.

"Good morning, Riku," Maleficent said as she turned around and the raven sat on her shoulder, "How was your stay?"

"It was okay, most of them were nice people," Riku shrugged.

"Most of them?" Maleficent raised an eyebrow.

"Lulu, the goth girl with the moogle plush, she didn't seem to trust me,"

"Ah, yes I remember now," the witch smirked, "But, that brown-haired girl seemed to take a shine to you," Riku nodded

"West, yeah she's nice, but she's a little clingy and annoying," Riku shrugged, "Anyway, they're directly linked to the heartless resistance and have these keycards that let them access the fourth and fifth districts and their goal is to find a way to get rid of the heartless once and for all. They all seem pretty pasionate about this because they've all lost their worlds," Maleficent rubbed her chin in thought,

"I see, then I suppose it was a good thing that I sent the Gilgamesh heartless off in the fifth district," Maleficent mumbled quietly, but Riku heard her,

"_You_ sent that heartless? They could have died!" Riku snapped.

"Riku, I had to make sure that you would gain their trust!" Maleficent retorted, "And it seemed to have worked from what Diablo here had seen," she said as she gestured to her raven, "Anyway, if you are still intent on looking for Sora, Diablo just saw him and two fools head towards the third district," Riku nodded,

"Okay, thanks for all your help," Riku told her, as he climbed down the ladders and began to walk towards the door to the third district.

"No, thank you, Riku, for telling me all I need to know," Maleficent smirked as she vanished in green flames.

At that moment, at the front of the flat, West stepped out of the house, fully dressed in her usual clothes and her knife tucked away just in case of any attacks. The pigtailed girl looked fantically around the second district.

"Riku!" West called, "Where are you? Was it something we said?" Just then, West saw Riku walk up to the stained-glass door leading to the third district. "What's he going there for?" she wondered, "Maybe I should follow him, make sure he's okay." West looked up to the rooftops, remembering another, hidden enterance to the third district.

When Riku arrived at the third district, Sora and a humanoid duck and dog emerged from a door with a fire emblem on it. Sora looked almost exactly the same from when he last saw him with the spicky hair and bright blue eyes, but he now had somekind of aura of newfound confidence and courage. Suddenly, a group of soldier heartless appeared in front of the three. As if on instinct, Riku drew Soul Eater, jumped down and slayed the heartless in one blow. Sora gazed at the sight in front of him with his mouth open in shock.

"There you are!" Riku beamed, "What's been going on?"

"Riku?" Sora's voice quivered in disbelief, his old friend moved closer and closer and began to pull at his face like when they were little.

"Hey! Hey, cut it out!" joked Riku as he playfully swatted away Sora's hands.

"I'm not dreaming, am I?"

"I hope not, it took forever to find you!"

"Riku!" Sora's face broke into his signature goofy grin, but that soon fell when another thought came to his mind, "Wait, where's Kairi?"

"Isn't she with you?" Riku asked while Sora shook his head sadly, "Well, don't worry. I'm sure she made it off the island too. We're finally free. Hey, she might even be looking for us now. We'll all be together again soon. Don't worry. Just leave everything to me. I know this-" Riku's scentence was suddenly cut off by a slashing noise being heard from behind him. Riku suddenly turned around to find Sora standing in an attack pose and holding a yellow and silver key-like weapon.

"Leave it to who?" Sora smirked.

"Sora, what did you-" Riku questioned in shock.

"I've been looking for you and Kairi too, with their help," Sora said as he gestured toward the duck and dog. Riku looked between them, a little confused on why Sora was with them.

"Who are they?" Riku asked with no emotion. The duck stepped forward and cleared his throat.

"Ahem. My name is-"

"We've visited so many places and worlds looking for you!" Sora beamed with excitement, while the duck looked irritated. Riku looked between the three as a small bit of anger towards his long-time friend began to build up.

"Really? Well, what do you know, I never would have guessed," the silver-head grumbled sarcastically.

"Oh and guess what! Sora's the Keyblade master!" the dog said excitedly.

"Who would have thought it?" the duck grumbled, Sora turned to him childishly, while without the younger boy knowing, Riku pulled the weapon out of his hand.

"So this is called a 'Keyblade?" Riku asked. The spiky-haired boy glanced at his hand, then back at Riku and while trying to get it back, fell clumsily to the ground. Riku let out a small chuckle, before looking the weapon over and then throwing the Keyblade back to Sora. "Catch,"

"Okay, so, you're coming with us right? We've got this awesome rocket!" Sora beamed.

"No!" the duck suddenly interrupted, "He can't come!" That was the last straw for Riku. He didn't get what the oversized ball of feather's problem was or what Sora saw in them that made him want to replace him and Kairi. All he knew was he'd be better off without the three of them. So, while they were arguing, Riku slipped away unnoticed and ran back to the second district. Once he was there, Riku leaned up against the fountain, crumbled down to the floor and buried his face in his arms, trying as hard as he could not to let the tears fall. Maleficent had been right the whole time, Sora did replace him. He thought he knew his best friend, but now he wasn't so sure.

**PrismRain13: why'd you have to be a jerk to Riku? That could have gone a completely different way!**

**Donald: The guy reeked of darkness! I wasn't going to let someone like that sabatoge our quest!**

**PrismRain13: *sigh* please review guys...**


	13. Breaking and Building Boundaries

**PrismRain13: another chappie here. Please remember to review this time guys!**

**Neku: Prism still claims ownership of nothing and most likely never will, other than her OC's.**

**PrismRain13: I love you Neku! *huggles Neku***

_**Chapter 13: Breaking and Building Boundaries**_

In the second district, Riku still lay curled up in front of the fountain, thinking about the events that had just passed. _Why would Sora do that?_ Riku thought, _I thought we were friends, but what kind of a friend abandons someone then replaces them?_ Just then, Riku felt a cold hand place itself on his shoulder. Riku looked up to find Maleficent standing over him.

"I tried to warn you, Riku, I really did." the witch told him as he felt himself and Maleficent being surrounded by the green flames, and a second later they were standing in front of a small house in the third district. Through the window, Riku saw Sora and the duck and dog talking and laughing together, which only make Riku's blood boil and snarl in disgust, "You see, it's just as I told you, while you toilled away trying to find your dear friend, he quite simply replaced you with some new companions. You're better off without that wretched boy. Now, think no more of him and come with me, I'll help you find what you're searching for." Maleficent had placed her arms around his shoulders, but Riku was so angry he didn't respond to the action.

"If you're talking about Kairi then count me in. You're right, I can't trust Sora anymore. When can we go?" Riku asked as Maleficent broke out into a slightly creepy smile.

"Calm yourself, Riku. We will be able to leave shortly, I just have some buisiness to take care of in the second district."

"Do you need me?" Riku grumbled.

"No, I believe I shall be able to handle this on my own. In the meantime, why don't you wait here?" Riku only gave a short nod as he walked down the ramp and leaned up against the golden fountain. Maleficent took it that he understood and dissapeared in her signature green flames. Riku wasn't even alone for a minuite before another voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Riku!" the silver-head looked up and saw West waving to him from a colourful apartment baconly. Then, she jumped down and landed clumsily on her rear. She then pulled herself up and put on her usual goofy grin, "Well, that's probably gonna leave a bruise," She giggled.

"West, what are you doing here?" Riku grumbled as he pinced the bridge of his noise. West let her smile drop and she rubbed the back of her neck.

"Look, Riku, I saw the scene with you and your friend, Sora-"

"He's not my friend!" Riku suddenly snapped, causing West to jump, "Friends don't abandon you after you spent days looking for them!"

"Okay okay! Chillax already!" West exclaimed, "I just thought you might want to talk about it, you seemed pretty bummed out."

"I'm fine! Besides, you probably heard me talking with that woman, I'm not going to be sticking around much longer," Riku replied while West looked at him with confusion.

"You're leaving?" she asked, Riku nodded, "Riku, running away from your problems isn't going to solve anything. I know you're upset but-" before West could continue, a ringtone suddenly burst. _Calling, you hear the calling, let me go gravity, what's on my shoulder..._(1) West giggled awkwardly and pulled out a thin, green cell phone with a moogle keychain on it.

"Nice ringtone,"Riku grumbled under his breath. While West flipped the phone open, then held it up to her ear,

"Yellow!... Hey Kim, what's up?... I'm in the third district with Riku, why?... Lulu! Watch the language!... Did you guys call me for something important or what?... WHAT? You're kidding!... Okay, I'm on my way," West let out a deep sigh, hung up the phone and tucked it into her pocket.

"What was that all about?" Riku asked.

"Some new big heartless just showed up in the fourth district, and is attacking five kids," West explained, "Come on, we better get going!" just then, West grabbed Riku's wrist again and began dragging him,

"Wait, 'we'?" Riku questioned as he pulled his wrist out of her grasp, "Forget it, I'm not going anywhere!"

"Riku come on! Without you I don't stand a chance, I've never fought a boss alone before!"

"Well, find someone else to go with you, I'm leaving soon anyway!" Riku crossed his arms and turned his back to the theif, but West only let out a small pout and walked around to face the silver-head. Riku could not believe what he was looking at; West's eyes had grown and had become watery and her lower lip was pulled into a trembling pout, "Oh, come on, don't look at me like that!" West only moved her 'cute face' closer to his, as Riku backed up, "Seriously, cut that out!" Riku hadn't realized that he had collided with the wall until West's face was inches from his, "Okay, fine I'll go with you, just stop making that face already!"

"Awesome!" Riku looked at West and her face was pulled into a grin again, "Let's go!" then, she grabbed Riku's wrist again and began pulling him towards the third district exit,

Meanwhile, in the second district, Maleficent was standing on the roof of the Gizmo Shop, talking to a big floating heartless dressed in dark prurple armour,

"Now, are you clear with the plan? When the keybearer and the king's fools reveal the keyhole, defeat them and take the keyhole." Maleficent said as the heartless gave a salute, "Excellent, now go hide yourself until that moment." the heartless dissapeared in a cloud of darkness as Maleficent smirked with satisfaction. She was just about to leave, when she noticed two figures running out of the third district. When Maleficent got a closer look, she saw that it was Riku being dragged by West. Maleficent could only open her mouth in shock.

"What's takin' so long, toots? Thought you and the kid would be back by now!" Maleficent turned around to find that Hades had appeared. The Lord of the Dead looked down into the district and he too gasped in shock at the sight of Riku and West. "No way! The kid's running off with some girl! What's up with that? He can get a date and I can't?"

"I am truly shocked by this!" Maleficent exclaimed, "Riku had eliminated his trust in Sora, he was to come back to our side! And, he told me that he did not even like this girl..." Maleficent's voice trailed off as an idea seemed to be forming in her mind.

"So, ya want me to go and scorch pigtails over there to a crisp?"

"No!" Maleficent suddenly snapped as Hades looked at her in disbelief," Riku told me that she is directly linked to the Heartless Resistance, this may be the perfect opportunity to learn more about our enemy." the witch turned to Diablo, who was sitting on her shoulder, "Go and look for all the information you can on this girl; I want to know her abilities, weaknesses and most importanty, what her little heart desires the most." Diablo nodded before flying off into the night sky.

~*KH*~

Sometime later, Riku and West burst through the doors of the fourth district, then paused to catch their breath from the running to get there.

"We should rest a little before the boss," West breathed, Riku only nodded as he leaned up against the wall. There were a few minutes of awkward silence between the two until West spoke up again, "Sooo... Thanks for coming..."

"Seriously, don't mention it," Riku grumbled, "It's not like you gave me much of a choice." more silence filled the space until West broke the ice again.

"Who was that lady you were talking to anyway? She didn't seem like very pleasant company," Riku seemed shocked by West's question, but did his best to awnser her, leaving out the part about the princesses.

"She's just someone who let me stay with her when I lost my world," Riku replied, "And in return I need to work for her. At least I finally got off my island and get to finally see what's out on the other worlds," Riku had felt himself drifting off into his memories of all the worlds he had seen so far, but was soon interrupted by the sound of West trying to hid a giggle behind her hand, "What's so funny?" Riku questioned.

"Nothing," West giggled until she finally composed herself, "I just never thought we'd have something in common; I wanna see other worlds too,"

"Serious?" Riku asked, "Don't you guys go to different worlds all the time? You being with the heartless resistance and all."

"Nah, Most of the older people do but Leon would never let me off Traverse Town," West replied, "The guy's so overprotective! But, yeah, I'd like to actually get out of this town. It's a nice place and all but after a couple years it looses it's charm."

"A couple years?" Riku raised an eyebrow, "exactly how long have you been here?"

"Since I was six," West replied casually. Riku let out a shocked gasp at her words, while West giggled at his expression, "Leon saved me from some heartless that were chasing me right after I showed up and I've been with them ever since. Well, enough about me, what's your story?" Riku suddenly fell silent. He didn't know what to say to her. Just then, their conversation was interrupted by screams being heard from the top of the colliseum. "Well, looks like that's our cue!" West smirked as she pulled out her knife and began running up the staircase leading up to the roof of the coliseum, Riku drew Soul Eater and followed closely behind. When they got up to the roof, Riku saw Joshua fighting alongside four other kids against a giant pinke armoured heartless with floating limbs.

"You guys look like you need a hand," Riku said as he pointed his sword at the heartless.

"You can say that again, yo!" Beat, the boy holding the skateboard nodded.

"Hey! Less talky, more flighty!" West exclaimed as she jumped on the heartless's back. The Red armour then began to shake violently as West let out shrieks of fear, trying desperately to hang on. Riku ran in to attack the Red armour's legs and arms, but the heartless kept slashing it's claws in Riku's direction. When West saw that the heartless wasn't paying her at the moment, she took the moment to pull up her knife and stabbed the Red armour directly in the neck. The heatless let out a howl of pain, but unexpectedly grabbed West with its sharp claws and threw her directly into Joshua, who collided into Rhyme.

"Okay, this thing's making me mad!" Neku roared as he ran head on into the battle fray and began firing several blasts of fire, ice and lighting at the Red Armour and Shiki allowed her stuffed cat came back to life and attacked it, and Beat rode his skateboard around the heartless, scratching the limbs. Red armour let out a small growl and struck the three into a nearby wall, leaving only Riku and West left in the battle.

"We need to finish this thing off soon; I can't see us lasting much longer," West wheezed as for a moment, she and Riku locked eyes, until the heartless took another swing at them, Riku jumped behind the heartless while West stayed at the front. The five who were attacked watched the battle unfold before them, looking for any way they could possibly help. Riku dodged every attack he could, until he turned to West with an idea forming in his mind.

"West! Hit him low! I'll hit him high!" Riku called as West nodded in understanding. They both moved to attack the heartless at the same time. Red armour soon became overwhelmed by what was happening that it fell on it's knees. Ready for the final blow, Riku and West both jumped into the air and slashed at the heartless on the way down. Both teenagers let out sighs of relief as the Red armour faded away into darkness. West rushed over to the fallen and began helping them up,

"Man! Why'd that heartless hafta be so tough? Coulda taken it out if it wasn't for those claws!" Beat grumbled, but smiled as West helped him to his feet, "But, uhh thanks for savin' us, yo."

"No problem!" West beamed as she pulled out five potions and distributed them among the five, "drink them, you'll feel better."

"Where'd you get those?" Riku asked.

"I'm a theif! I steal from enemies, I kick heartless butt; it's kinda what I do," West giggled. The five who were injured soon rose to their feet, feeling their strength return.

"Thanks a ton for the help," Shiki smiled, "You guys make a really good team!"

"Well, I guess we better get going, see you guys around," Neku said simply as he began walking down the staircase as the others followed him and waved goodbye to Riku and West. There was silence between the two teens, until West spoke up,

"She's got a point you know," West said as Riku gave her a look of confusion, "We did work well together; I can see us becoming a team,"

"I couldn't agree more, dear," a voice echoed through the space as a burst of green flames appeared. West was so startled that she let out a squeal of fear and grabbed on to Riku's arm. As the flames began to vanish, Maleficent stepped out in front of the two teens.

"You were talking to Riku earlier," West's voice cracked as her grip on Riku's arm tightened, "It wasn't his fault, I convinced him to come with me, I-"

"Calm down, I am well aware of what had happened," Maleficent said calmly, "And I have to admit I am impressed with how the two of you performed."

"Maleficent, what are you saying?" Riku asked.

"What I am saying, Riku, is that I'd like to present the young lady with the opportunity to come and work with us."

**Neku: Okay, that's that's the end of the chapter, now Prism, would you let go of me?**

**PrismRain13: forget it! *keeps huggling***

**(1): West's ringtone is _Calling _from The World Ends With You soundtrack, my fav song from the game :)**


	14. A New Partner

**PrismRain13: Well, I'm finally on summer Hollidays! And to celebrate my freedom, here is a new chapter for all you awesome people!**

**TJ: Prism still own nothing other than her OCs and some small events, now on with the chapter!**

**_Chapter 14: A New Partner_**

Riku and West stared at Maleficent in shock, having just heard what the witch had to say. Riku looked between West and Maleficent, confusion sprad across his face. West already had people she was staying with, why would Maleficent just out of nowhere offer her the same position as himself? The two teens stayed quiet until Maleficent finally broke the silence.

"Are the two of you deaf?" Maleficent questioned.

"W-why do you want me?" West asked, "I'm not that tough." The witch released a small laugh before motioning for West to move over to her. West looked uneasilly between Riku and Maleficent before releasing Riku's arm and began slowly walking over to the witch. When West was right next to her, Maleficent draped her arm over her shoulders and started whispering something in her ear. Riku released a sigh as he crossed his arms, unable to hear what they were saying. He looked down at his arm and noticed that there were small deep red marks from where West had dug her nails in. Riku looked ahead and saw West let out a gasp as she stepped away from Maleficent. The thief moved her mouth in a way that said "are you serious?" the witch only nodded her head as the two of them continued to talk for a minute, West gave a nod before Maleficent led West back towards Riku.

"Good news, Riku. West has agreed to come along with us and be your new partner," Maleficent stated.

"My partner?" Riku questioned, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Dispite what you may think Riku, there will be times when an ally will be needed to provide support. For myself that is my inner circle and the heartless." Maleficent explained.

"Basically I'm here to save your butt!" West stepped in.

"But what about Kim, Irvine, TJ and everyone?" Riku snapped, "You're just going to dump them?" West rapidly shook her head and shot her hands up in defense.

"Of course not! I'm not leaving forever!" West replied.

"West and I discussed it, and agreed that she will be free to go as she sees fit; the same arrangement you and I had." Maleficent added. Riku sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose and looked between the witch and the theif.

"Okay, fine I get it." Riku grumbled, "So when do we leave?" Maleficent formed a small smirk of victory on her lips as she turned away from the two teenagers.

"As soon as the two of you are ready," the witch replied, "I'll be waiting on the roof of the gizmo shop, come find me when you are ready." West and Riku both nodded as the witch vanished in her signature green flames, leaving the two teens in silence. West rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly,

"So, I'd probably have to go get some stuff back at the house, then I'll probably be good," West stated, "Anything else you need here?"

"No, I've pretty much had enough of this town, let's go." Riku grumbled as he jumped down to the staircase, obviously annoyed about West coming with him.

"Do I know the feeling or what?" West giggled to herself as she followed the silver-haired teen.

~*KH*~

Sometime later, the duo reached the second district just as the loud ringing of a bell was heard. They both turned around to find the square panel on the fountain moved to reveal a different design.

"What was that?" Riku asked the theif who was staring at the top of the gizmo shop.

"It's the gizmo shop bell," West said quietly, "But, it's all boarded up; I don't get how someone can be ringing it." At that moment, the bell rang a second time and the panel on the fountain shifted again.

"Well, we don't really have time to be worried about a stupid bell; let's just go and get your stuff then leave!" Riku grumbled as he ran off ahead, leaving West behind to giggle into her palm.

"You don't waste any time, do you?" West called as she ran after him, "Wait up!" the bell rang a third time and as the panel shifted once more, neither of them noticed Traverse Town's keyhole appear.

West opened the door to the flat to reveal Zell and TJ sparring in the living room. A lot of the furniture was toppled over and a few dents were present in the walls. Riku had a small feeling that if Lulu or Kim were there, sparring in thelouse wouldn't even be tolerated. It took the two boys a little while to notice they were standing there, but when they finally noticed TJ tucked away his bat and Zell rubbed the back of his head.

"Wow, you guys are back already?" TJ asked, "Thought you'd still be busy with that heartless and junk," West looked around the space awkwardly, before turning to the two boys again.

"Actually guys, can I talk to you for a minute?" Zell and TJ looked at eachother and shrugged, before following West up the stairs, leaving Riku alone in the kitchen. The islander looked around the space, suddenly feeling bored. He couldn't hear what they were talking about, but he assumed that West was making up some excuse why she was leaving with him.

Boredom finally winning, Riku sighed and began walking up the stairs. He walked for awhile until he found the room where the trio were talking. Their voices were muffled behind the closed door, so Riku couldn't catch the majority of the conversation.

_"West, this just whomps!"_ Riku heard TJ's voice say, _"I don't want you to go!"_

_"What are we going to tell Lulu, Leon and everyone else?"_ Zell's voice asked.

_"Tell them what I told you ... Don't worry about me ... Only chance,"_ West's voice said in a reassuring tone.

_"You sure you're okay?"_ TJ asked.

_"Yeah, I've been looking for a reason to get out of Traverse Town anyway!"_ West replied, _"I'll be back ... Relax,"_ At that moment Riku heard footsteps coming towards the door, so he quickly sprinted towards the stairs and sat down just as West, Zell and TJ came out of the room. They seemed unaware that Riku had heard anything and for that the islander was grateful. "I just need to grab some stuff out of my room," West said to Riku as she motioned for him to follow her. Riku groaned, but stood up from his position on the stairs and began following the theif. Until Zell grabbed his arm and whispered in his ear,

"Just wanna let ya know; I'm rootin' for ya!" when Riku gave him a look of confusion, Zell only smirked, "You're a lucky guy! Having' West with ya and all!" Before Riku could say anything, the two boys sprinted down the stairs. Riku only shook his head, and followed West down he hall.

"What did you tell them?" Riku asked. At his words, West stopped in her tracks. She stood there for about a minuite, until she turned around and met his face with her usual perky grin,

"I just told them that you asked me to come with you on different worlds to check out the heartless situation there," West giggled, "Which is great cuz I've been looking for a reason to get off Traverse Town for years!" Before Riku could say anything in response West opened the door right next to her to reveal the girl's bedroom.

It was fairly simple with a beige carpet, old light brown wallpaper, wooden dressers and closet and three beds representing each girl. Lulu's bed consisted of black gothic sheets, made up as though no one had slept there at all but had a wide variety of stuffed animals, including her moogle sitting on her bed. Kim's bed consisted of pink sheets casually tossed aside and various gadgets and equipment littered both the bed and her dresser. West's bed on the other hand had green and brown checkered sheets that were so messy that Riku had to wonder how much she moved around during her night terrors. On her dresser was a yellow book that was titled _Thieving For Dummies_. Riku noticed that on each dresser were a pair of noise-canceling headphones and the islander couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of Lewis's late-night workings.

West looked under her bed and pulled out an old black backpack and bagan filling it with clothes, her book and a small brown shoebox. Riku raised an eyebrow at the box, but let that thought escape his mind as West zipped up the backpack, swung it over her shoulder and stated that she was ready to go. The islander nodded as West moved towards the door, just as he was about to leave Riku looked out the window and widened his eyes at the sight of Sora and the two animals fighting a giant armour-covered heartless. West joined Riku at the window, and she too gazed at the battle in the second district.

"Wow, he's good!" West exclaimed, "So's the duck and dog. That's awesome teamwork!" Riku shot West a dirty look at which West giggled uncomfortably, "Okay... I guess you don't want to get caught up in that fight, so we're going to have to take the roof route." Riku only nodded a West climbed out of the window and on to a fire escape lader that led up to the rooftops. The silver-haired teen followed her, but not before taking one last look at Sora and his battling companions and whispering under his breath,

"I hope that heartless rips the duck and dog's heads off." Riku continued climbing up the fire escape ladder until he reached the roof where West was already standing. The two teens walked along the rooftops until they reached the gizmo shop roof. West looked straight ahead and noticed that the bell was clearly visible and the wood that had been covering it up were strayed on the floor.

"Looks like Sora did bust open the bell," West stated.

"Can we please stop talking about Sora?" Riku grumbled as West nodded and made a zip-up gesture over her mouth. At that moment green flames appeared in front of them as Maleficent stepped out.

"Well, that was quick," Maleficent stated, "I thought the two of you would take longer."

"I pack light," West explained as she held up her backpack for emphasis. Maleficent nodded, held up her hand as a corridor of darkness appeared and the witch led the two teenagers inside.

~*KH*~

Sometime later the three appeared in the middle of the castle chapel where Hades, Capain Hook, Jafar, Ursula and Oogie Boogie were standing around a glowing table.

"Welcome back kid. Took your time in that town?" Hades said. Ursula then slithered forward in front of West,

"And who's this little lady?" Ursula asked.

"This is West, she will be staying with us as Riku's partner for when they are needed on the other worlds," Maleficent explained, then she turned to the two teens, "West, your bedroom will be next door to Riku's. He'll show you the way now off you go." the witch shooed them off as West followed Riku. As soon as the villains were sure they were far enough away that they couldn't hear them, Captain Hook spoke up,

"What's the meanin' of your bringing this scurvy lass here?" the pirate demanded, "I sense too much light in her heart! She'll only cause us more problems!"

"Yeah, Hades told us that she's part of the heartless resistance! Ain't that a little risky?" Oogie Boogie questioned. The villains burst out into shouts of protest until Maleficent spoke up again.

"SILENCE!" the witch roared, causing the entire room to fall silent, "I am well aware of what West's position was in Traverse Town, which is exactly the reason why I chose to bring her here. Trust me, West will eventually tell us all we need to know about the resistance. When she joins you on your respective worlds, feel free to use any means necessary to get that information out of her."

"And if she doesn't?" Jafar asked as Maleficent smirked.

"Then do away with her, but make sure that Riku is unaware why. He is someone we cannot afford to loose."

"But, how did you convince her to come along with you?" Ursula asked.

"I did my research on her, and I made her an offer she couldn't refuse."

~*KH*~

Riku led West down the winding hallways of the castle. It was dragging on much longer with West bouncing around the hallways trying to take every little detail in. Riku rolled his eyes at her as they finally arrived in front of his room. Riku opened the door and Mushu was still sitting on his bed next to a wide variety of burnt books and magazines.

"Cool!" West exclaimed when she caught sight of Mushu, "Is that your pet lizard?" she ran right into the room and knelt down next to Mushu.

"Woah! Little lady, I'm a dragon!" Mushu stated as he got in her face, "Dragon! Not lizard! Dragon!"

"Sweet! He can talk too?" West stated perkily as Riku closed the door.

"Oh, I can do more than talk! I'm a guardian dragon; my powers are beyond your mortal immagination! For instance, my eyes can see right through your armour!(1)" Mushu stated. And in a split second West slapped Mushu across the face causing the dragon to tumble onto the floor.

"Dude, not cool!" West exclaimed.

"Dishonour on you little lady! No one slaps a guardian dragon!" Mushu started yelling as he rose from the floor.

"Would the two of you just snap out of it?" Riku stated, "If we're all going to be in this situation together then we're going to have to learn to live with eachother!" neither West or Mushu had time to respond as there was a knock at the door, Mushu quickly darted under the bed just as Jafar stepped into the room.

"Not interrupting anything, am I?" the Arabian asked as both teenagers shook their heads, "Well, get ready to leave soon as the two of you will be accompanying me to Agrabah, my home world."

**PrismRain13: Yay! More Disney Worlds :) on another random note; I'm going to go see the new Pixar movie _Brave_ so excited! *squee* **

**TJ: remember to review and see you next time!**

**(1): quote Mushu says from Disney's _Mulan_**


	15. Diamond In The Rough

**PrismRain13: the first chapter of Agrahbah is here! I'm super excited for the world based on one of my all-time favorite Disney movies!**

**Jafar: I feel so flattered.**

**PrismRain13: I wasn't talking about you! I own absolutely nothing KH-related except for the plot and my OC's!**

_**Chapter 15: Diamond In The Rough**_

Riku and West stood in front of the villains sometime later, just about ready for Jafar to take them to his home world. Mushu was hiding in Riku's pocket away from sight, the dragon had complained about the cramped space but after a few arguments Mushu agreed. Maleficent paced in front of the teenagers, anxiously waiting for what she had to say.

"Before the two of you leave, there is something I feel you should know about; the Fusion attack. Riku, this particular attack requires two people wich is one of the many reasons I suggested a partner," Maleficent sated, indicating West.

"Okay, so how does it work?" Riku asked, voicing the question the two teenagers had.

"It will only work when the two of you are in the same battle and feel each other's energy. You will understand when you both feel the time is right to use it. The Fusion will grow and develop as you do, thus creating a different type of attack for each level. Well, that is all I have to say at this point," Maleficent stated as she allowed Jafar to step in front of the two teens,

"Now then, once we reach Agrahbah I expect you to carry out the tasks I assign to you and to be aware of your surroundings as it is easy to get lost." the arabian stated. The two teens nodded their underatanding as Jafar raised his hand and a corridor of darkness appeared. "Ladies first," Jafar stepped aside for West as she warilly stepped in. Riku followed her in and Jafar went in as the corridor closed behind him.

Not even a second later the three were looking on at the desert city they were now standing in. Riku couldn't help but sweat, the heat was so intense and the sun was beating down on his skin. West was panting heavily in her layered clothes while Jafar was wearing more clothes than the rest of them and looked perfectly alright in his attire.

"How are you not sweating?" West demanded the Arabian, "It's boiling out here!"

"Dear, when you are as advanced in the dark arts as I am, keeping yourself comfortable is nothing," Jafar stated, "Now, last I checked the heartless were seizing the palace, now if Iago would..." just then there was a squawk and a small red parrot with a large beak flew down from the sky and landed on Jafar's shoulder.

"Iago, there you are. I expect a status report," Jafar demanded.

"The heartless have taken over the palace and are now looking for the keyhole." the parrot said, "But Princess Jasmine ran off before we could get her." Jafar rubbed his temples, obviously not pleased about the princess getting away.

"Did the guards at least apprehend the boy?" Iago nodded.

"Turns out as soon as he heard about the heartless he went straight up to the palace to help the princess escape, but the guards got him, now he's in the dungeon." after hearing this, Jafar gained a small smile then turned to the two teens.

"And herein lies the assignments I have for you," the Arabian declared, "West will search the city with Iago to find the princess, and Riku will come with me to the palace. I will explain what your task further once we arrive." West nodded once before sprinting down the winding Agrahbah streets. Riku watched her leave for a moment, before realizing that Jafar and Iago were walking off without him. The silver-haired boy quickly ran after them and a few minuites later they had arrived at the palace gates.

"So, what is it I have to do?" Riku asked, panting for breath.

"It's quite simple," said Jafar, "The boy in the dungeons is known as Aladdin; the Diamond in the Rough."

"Meaning?" Riku asked with his arms crossed.

"He is the only one who will be able to enter the Cave of Wonders, which contains an item I will need in order to complete my control of Agrabah and find the keyhole. A magic lamp. What I want you to do is go down to the dungeons and suggest to Aladdin to escape and seek out the cave. I have already hidden a passage in the dungeons for you. Accompany Aladdin into the cave and once he has the lamp, take it and bring it to me."

"Then, what do you want me to do about Aladdin after all that?"

"Once he has gotten the lamp, he is of no use to me; kill him." Riku gasped in shock at Jafar's words as the sorceror raised an eyebrow, "Well, I believe that is all the information you need to know. I wish you luck." Jafar raised his staff as a corridor of darkness appeared underneath Riku's feet causing him to fall through and release a startled scream. Jafar and Iago watched the corridor until it disappeared, at which point Iago spoke up.

"So what's the deal with this girl? She just seems too nice to be on our side." the parrot asked.

"Maleficent informed me that she is directly linked to the heartless resistance. Because of this she told us to use any means necessary to get any information out of her." Jafar stated.

"Love ta hear what you've got in mind."

"Yes, well with her appearing so suddenly, I haven't had a chance to think about the issue..." Jafar's voice trailed off as an idea formed in his mind, "But why get my hands dirty? Iago, I want you to travel to the Land of the Black Sands and seek out the sorceror that supposedly lives there. Tell him that if he can get any information on the heartless resistance out of West, then he will be handsomely rewarded."

Meanwhile in the dark dungeons under the palace, a corridor of darkness appeared and a screaming Riku fell out and roughly landed on the stone ground. The islander groaned in pain as Mushu shaked his head and streched.

"Man, that guy could have given us a softer landing! Think I broke my tail!" the dragon exclaimed as he tried to straighten out his broken tail.

"I have to agree with you there." Riku nodded and stretched as he rose to his feet, "So where do you think this hidden door is?"

"No idea."

"Okay, why don't you look for that door while I look around and try to find this Aladdin guy."

"Sounds good man, I'll catch ya later." Mushu stated as he scurried off. Riku watched him go before he began wandering through the maze-like dungeon, he only stopped when he heard voices.

"I just can't help but worry, Abu. Jasmine has to have made it out okay." Riku peeked around the corner to find a black-haired man a few years older than him dressed in torn clothes bound to the stone wall by shackles on his wrists. Judging by Jafar's descriptions, Riku assumed that ths had to be Aladdin. A monkey was sitting on top of the shackles, picking at the locks. After a few moments the monkey finally succeeded and the young man was free, Aladdin then jumped up to his feet and began frantically looking around the dungeons for any kind of escape.

In the shadows, Riku saw Mushu standing near the wall, locking eyes with him and pointing at something in the brick wall. As the islander squinted, he noticed that there was a thin black line in the shape of a square clearly marking the door Jafar was talking about. When the silver-head nodded that he had seen it, Mushu darted back into the shadows. It was at that moment that Riku allowed himself to be noticed to the street rat.

"Having a little trouble, are you?" Riku asked as he walked out of the shadows. Aladdin snapped his head in the direction of Riku's voice and immediately took a defensive position while the monkey cowered on his shoulder.

"Who's there?" Aladdin demanded, "Who are you?"

"I'm just a kid, stuck in the dungeons like you," Riku stated as he walked out of the shadows, "But, out of this place, an opportunity awaits."

"I'm listening." Aladdin stated as he crossed his arms.

"I've heard about the cave of wonders; an entire cave filled with treasure," as Riku said this both Aladdin and his monkey's eyes filled with greed, "It'll be more than enough to impress that princess you like."

"But why would you share this with me?"

"Well, it's not like I can just barge into this cave alone; I need backup!"

"Okay, but in case you haven't noticed; we're kind of stuck here." Riku shook his head and strode over to the door, pushing it open to reveal a lit-up staircase. Aladdin and his monkey looked on in a mixture of shock and admiration.

"Well, things aren't always what they seem, are they? Do we have a deal?" Aladdin looked at his monkey who was cowering on his shoulder before releasing a sigh and shaking Riku's hand.

~*KH*~

West wandered through the winding Agrahbah streets, looking for anyone who looked like they could be royalty. So far, she had nothing to show for her progress. At the moment she was looking around the marketplace, noticing a fruit stand, without thinking West swiped an apple when the shopkeeper was looking the other way and threw it into her pocket. She was so busy watching the shopkeeper that she didn't realize she had bumped into someone, the force knocking her to the ground.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" a feminine voice exclaimed. West looked up into the face of a woman wearing brown fabrics covering her entire body, black hair barely visible under her hood and a beautiful face. The woman held out her hand to help West up and West took it.

"No, It's okay I should have been watching where I was going," West laughed as she brushed herself off. "My name's West, and you are?"

"Curious as to why you would steal that apple," The woman said as she crossed her arms.

"Look, it's not like I want to steal I'm just used to it! I've been stealing for so long, I guess it's kind of engraved itself into who I am." West sighed, "And, you can't really blame people who are worse off than me because none of us really have a choice. You don't know what their story is, so you shouldn't judge."

"I suppose I understand." the woman said, "I met a young man who was a theif not that long ago and he wasn't what I was expecting at all."

"Exactly! You never know a theif until you meet one!" West beamed as the woman smiled back and began to walk away, "By the way, I'm supposed to be looking for this princess who ran off from the palace; you haven't seen her, have you?" West called to the woman's back. She stopped in her tracks and paused for a moment before turning back to face West,

"No, I'm sorry I haven't," She said as she began to walk off, West watched her go then placed the apple back on the fruit stand. Just then, out of the corner of her eye West noticed someone in blue robes sharply turn a corner. The theif raised an eyebrow before following the figure. She found herself in a dead end to the streets, with a small wooden door as the only possible way the person could have gone.

Curiosity getting the better of West, she slowly pulled open the door revealing a small storage area containing several decorative carpets. The room was dimly-lit resulting in West not being able to see what was in the shadows clearly.

"Hello? Anyone here?" West called into the space, but receiving no reply. Instead, there was a rustling sound from behind her as though there really was someone there. As a reflex, West drew her knife and stood in a defensive battle stance.

But, before West knew it she felt something rough and snake-like wrap around her wrists and rapidly pull and send her colliding into the support beam, dropping her knife in shock. More of the material snaked around her body, tying her to the support beam. West struggled at her bonds before glancing down at herself andsays that what was holding her there were strands of black sand.

West heard an evil, deep laugh come from the shadows and the theif shot her head up, coming face-to-face with her captor as he strode out of the shadows. He was a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties dressed in blue and gold arabian sorcerors robes with wild black hair peeking out from under his turban, pale white skin, a single brown glove on one hand and was petting an eel that seemed to float around him. The man smirked at West before picking up her knife and twirling it between his fingers.

"Well, I have to admit; when I heard about you I was expecting more of a challenge." the man smirked.

"Theif no challenge!" the eel added in a scratchy voice. West couldn't help but stop her struggling for a moment and stare at the duo.

"Who the heck are you?" West demanded.

"I am Mozenrath; ruler of the land of the black sands. And Ihave some questions for you."

**PrismRain13: so, if you guys are wondering, Mozenrath is a reoccurring villain from the Aladdin TV series. He's just such a great bad guy I couldn't really help myself!**

**Jafar: please tell me I'm at least going to get some spotlight on my own world.**

**PrismRain13: relax, Mozenrath won't hog it. The spotlight comes to him :)**

**Jafar: RAGE!**


	16. Darkness Rises

**PrismRain13: *dressed in schoolgirl Kairi cosplay* Hey guys! Sorry for the wait, but Animethon combined with writer's block... Yeah not pretty in terms of getting this out.**

**Mozenrath: *sarcastically* Hope you enjoyed yourself. **

**PrismRain13: You kidding? Bunch of people who speak my language, vendor's hall, and all the awesome cosplays? How could i not have fun?!**

**Xerxes: Prism owns nothing!**

**Mozenrath: Only the plot and her original characters, everything else is property of Disney and/or Square Enix.**

_**Chapter 16: Darkness Rises**_

Riku and Aladdin had arrived at a large cave shaped like a tiger's head after a long trek through the windy dessert sands. The cave's eyes began to glow and a growling noise was heard as Abu the monkey hid shaking under Aladdin's vest.

"WHO DISTURBS MY SLUMBER?" The cave demanded in a deep voice that seemed to shake the earth. Aladdin stepped forward in front of the cave.

"uhh... It is I... A-Aladdin..." the street rat's voice was shaking with nervousness, but as the cave stared down at him, he made no move to run or show that he was scared. And Riku had to admit that it wasn't an easy thing to do as he stepped forward as well. The cave stared at the duo for a long time before finally making up its mind and speaking again.

"PROCEED. BUT TOUCH NOTHING BUT THE LAMP!" the cave opened its mouth, revealing the lit-up entrance to the cave of wonders. Abu was still shaking, so Aladdin pulled him out and hugged him close to his chest in a comforting embrace.

"We go in, grap the lamp and get out it's as simple as that." Riku stated as more of an effort to calm himself down.

"Don't worry, Abu." Aladdin said soothingly to his monkey, "It'll all be over soon." the two boys nodded to each other before cautiously climbing into the cave. The trio continued down a long, winding stone staircase until they came to a golden archway, leading them into a room that was piled to the ceilings with mountains of golden treasure. The floors were carelessly coated in it and there were multiple golden statues decorating the walls. Neither Riku or Aladdin could help but gasp in awe.

"Woah... Just a handful of this suff would make us richer than the sultan!" Aladdin exclaimed. Abu seemed to be thinking the same thing because a second later he had jumped out of Aladdin's arms and began running directly towards a chest overflowing with gold.

"Dude control your monkey!" Riku exclaimed as Aladdin nodded.

"Abu!" Aladdin called and the monkey stopped in his tracks, looking up at the street rat, "Don't touch anything! We gotta find that lamp!" Aladdin scolded as Abu pouted and climbed onto his shoulder. Riku rolled his eyes at the duo, wondering how on earth Aladdin could have survived on the streets this long with the little furball to cause him trouble. It was at that moment that Riku got the feeling that they were being watched. Riku spun around and gasped at what he saw; a gold and purple carpet floating in mid-air waving it's tassels in a common waving gesture. Riku's eyes widened at the sight of such a thing, but the carpet stayed put.

"A magic carpet?" Riku asked in awe. Aladdin and Abu spun around and their eyes widened as well at the sight of the carpet. The carpet raised itself in alarm before sprinting behind a pile of gold and shaking as it peeked out from behind the pile.

"It's okay, come out. We're not gonna hurt you." Aladdin said calmly to the carpet as it slowly moved from its hiding spot and cautiously approached the group. Abu looked curiously at the carpet as it flew around them.

"Well, it's sure playful." Riku remarked.

"Maybe you can help us? You see; we're trying to find this lamp." Aladdin stated and the carpet immediately stoped flying around them, and motioned for them to follow him deeper into the cave. "I think he knows where it is!" Aladdin exclaimed excitedly as he, Riku and Abu followed the carpet deep into the cave.

After moments of walking, the group finally emerged to what seemed like the deepest part of the cave. It was dark and damp with a lone stone pillar surrounded by water with stepping stones leading up to it. As Riku squinted he noticed something gold and shiny at the top of the pillar,

"That's gotta be the lamp." the silver-head stated.

"So, what do we do?" Aladdin asked turning to Riku, Abu and Carpet.

"Well you're the Diamond in the Rough; you're probably going to have to climb up there to get it." Riku stated, not thinking of a comeback Aladdin simply nodded as he turned to the stepping stones. Abu let out a whimper as Aladdin turned back and cradled the monkey in his arms.

"Don't worry Abu," Aladdin said soothingly, "I'll be okay. Once this is over we can all go home and we won't have to worry about ducking the guards an scraping food to survive; life's gonna change for the better, I promise." at the street rat's words Riku felt a pang in his heart. "And who knows? Maybe we'll find Jasmine and maybe Carpet and Riku would want to stay with us. We'll have more company that way." Carpet immediately burst with excitement and flew around Aladdin and Abu playfully.

"Actually, I think I'm going to have to pass on that offer; I already have arrangements somewhere else." Riku said as Aladdin nodded his understanding. The young man set Abu down on the stone ground before giving him an encouraging smile and cautiously walking across the stones. As Riku watched Aladdin he let out an deep, stressed sigh and leaned up against the cave's wall; how in the world was he supposed to kill him? This good-hearted young man who did so much for others but was barely surviving the streets himself. Somehow sensing Riku's inner conflict, Mushu climbed out of Riku's pocket and onto his shoulder.

"You feeling okay? Ya seem a little out of it." the small dragon stated.

"I don't know what to do Mushu." Riku admitted, looking into his companion's eyes, "How am I supposed to kill someone like Aladdin?"

"It's quite simple," A voice suddenly said from behind the duo causing them both to jump. Riku spun around with Mushu in his arms to find the same brown-robbed figure he had seen in Hollow Bastion.

"You..." Riku questioned, "What... How did you get here?"

"That is not important at the moment." the figure stated, "Just ask yourself this; who is more important to you? Your dear lost friend who needs you, or a worthless street rat you just met?" Riku remained silent as he repeated what the figure had to say in his mind. Aladdin or Kairi? Kairi... Just thinking about his friend ached his heart. He knew he had to find her and help her, because he knew Sora couldn't be trusted anymore.

"Kairi; it'll aways be Kairi." Riku stated, as a burning rage began to build up inside him, for a brief moment his eyes flashed deep yellow. "If this street rat gets in the way, then I'll deal with him." the figure smiled under his hood and applauded Riku's words.

"I knew you'd make the right choice. Now, the sooner you take the lamp and the princesses, the sooner you'll see Kairi." Riku nodded as the figure dissapeared. Riku cradled his head in his palm just as his eyes returned to their normal sea-green and a headache started to form. He didn't even notice when Mushu started waving his small hand in his face.

"Hello? Anybody home? Not inturruptin' your imaginary conversation am I?" the dragon asked.

"Huh? What?" Riku asked as he shook his head, "What do ou mean 'imaginary'? You saw who I was talking to, right?" the small dragoon shook his head.

"No one was there man, you were just talking to yourself." Mushu stated. Riku was about to reply when Aladdin's voice suddenly shouted,

"ABU! NO!" Riku's head suddenly snapped up to find the monkey grabbing a large red jewel off the hands of a golden monkey statue.

"FOOLS!" The voice of the cave roared as the space began to shake, "YOU HAVE TOUCHED THE FORBIDDEN TREASURE! NOW YOU WILL NEVR AGAIN SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY!" and with that said, the cave began to shake violently as piles of rubble fell from the ceiling. Thinking quickly, Carpet flew up and quickly scooped up the two boys and their pets. Abu clung with his life on Aladdin's arm while Mushu quickly ducked back into Riku's pocket. Carpet darted through the twisting and winding tunnels of the cave, dodging the falling boulders with such speed that the boys were finding it difficult to hang on.

Not long after, the exit was visible. Carpet put all his power into flying upwards, however once they got to the outside, the force sent Riku and Capet thrown right out onto the sand. The once tiger-shaped head was quickly caving in and had now become a sinkhole. Aladdin and Abu struggled against it even though they could barely move against the force of the sand. Aladdin looked towards Riku with pleading eyes as though mentally begging for his help. The street rat finally got one of his hands free and held it out towards Riku.

"Help me out!" Aladdin begged.

"Give me the lamp!" Riku shouted after a moment's hesitation. He still needed it to give to Jafar, and if he didn't... Who knew how that would help his chances of finding Kairi.

"I can't get loose! Give me your hand!"

"First give me the lamp!" Riku shouted as his patience was wearing thin. Aladdin struggled against the sandpit before finally pulling the golden lamp out of his sash and handing it towards Riku. Riku wasted no time in grappling the lamp and turning his back away from the street rat and starting to walk away.

"Wait! I thought you were going to help me!" Aladdin called as Riku faced him again.

"Yeah, well you thought wrong. All I needed you for was getting the lamp. This way's just a lot less messy." Riku snapped. "Sorry, but you don't know what I'm going through." With that, Riku turned his back to the sinking duo, but not before he felt something sharp dig into his ankle. The islander released a yelp of pain before looking down to find Abu biting him. Riku growled at the monkey and tried to shake him off but Abu just scampered around Riku's body. Riku finally managed to grab Abu and threw him down back in the pit.

Panicked, Carpet flew above Riku and Abu, grabbed Aladdin's hands with its tassels and tried to pull him out. Without even a second thought, Riku grabbed Carpet's back tassels and pulled him away from the struggling street rat. Riku couldn't control himself as a smoky black aura of darkness appeared around his body as the Agrabah natives looked at him in shock. Sensing danger, Mushu climbed out of Riku's pocket and looked up as Riku pulled Carpet away and climbed on him, digging his fingers into the rug. Mushu took one last look at Aladdin before climbing onto Carpet as well.

"I need a ride back to Agrabah and you're going to take me there wether you like it or not!" Carpet looked at Riku with a terrified expression before giving one last look towards Aladdin before sadly flying off with Riku and Mushu on its back. Riku cradled his head in his palm before the dark aura surrounding him vanished. The islander released a small moan of pain as Mushu climbed onto his shoulder.

"Hey, Riku you okay? You got a little scary back there." the dragon asked with concern.

"I don't know what came over me; all I could think about was saving Kairi, then it was like I didn't have control anymore."

"So, what are you saying man? That all that stuff you said and did wasn't you?"

"No, it's what I felt like doing; I was so wrapped up in getting the lamp, full of anger. I think the darkness might be getting to me. I'll have to talk to Maleficent about this, she might know what's wrong with me." Riku stated.

"Okay, do whatever you want but I'm tellin' ya; something about that lady just puts chills down my scales." Mushu replied as Carpet continued to fly them towards Agrabah. Meanwhile, Aladdin and Abu watched them leave while struggling against the quicksand before suddenly, right in front of them in a cloud of darkness, a brown-robbed figure appeared, looking directly at Riku.

"That's it Riku, let the darkness take you," the figure smirked under his hood.

"You... You did that to Riku?" Aladdin demanded, "What did you do to him?" Abu chatted angrily in agreement.

"I've done nothing more than awaken the darkness he already held inside, street rat." the figure stated, "Not that you'll be needing to worry about such a thing seeing as how you won't be around much longer." and with that, the figure dissapeared just like he had come, leaving the duo stranded in the blazing heat, awaiting their downfall.

~*KH*~

West felt a chill go down her spine at Mozenrath's voice and words. The black sand binding her to the support beam didn't show any signs that it would be possible to break it and the theif had long since given up on trying to struggle through it. The sorceror only continued to smirk at her, until his eel broke the silence.

"Torture theif now?" the eel asked excitedly as Mozenrath stroked it with his bare hand.

"Patience, Xerxes." Mozenrath stated, "Torture may not be necessary, as long as our little hostage is a good girl and does as she's told." Mozenrath wasted no time in striding over to his prisoner and circling her, watching her like a hawk. The sorceror then stopped, grabbed one of her pigtails as began to fiddle with her hair, making West feel uncomfortable, "So sweet; you're just like a wild animal that walked right into the hunter's trap." Then, Mozenrath placed his lips so close to her ear that she felt every word her said, "Well, tis is where the animal's innocence is drowned in a puddle of black sand."

"What do you even want from me?" West demanded, finally finding her voice.

"I'll ask the questions!" Mozenrath snapped, causing the theif to cringe. The sorceror took a deep breath before walking away from West to the front of the room. "First things first; where's the Heartless Resistance's home base?" At the sorceror's words West's head immediately snapped up, a look of confusion spread across her face.

"What? How do you know about the Heartless Resistance?" she asked. Xerxes growled and slithered through the air away from his master's side and got right into West's face, making her feel uncomfortable.

"No questions! Awnser Mozenrath!" the eel snarled.

"Indeed," Mozenrath stated as he continued to fiddle with West's knife, "Know this girl; I have very little tolerance for those who waste my time. Now if you know what's good for you I strongly suggest you tell me what I want to know." Xerxes nodded in agreement as he flew back to Mozenrath's side. With the eel out of her face, West felt her confidence build up as she glared at the sorceror.

"And what if I don't feel like talking?" West demanded, sounding a lot braver than she felt. Mozenrath only simirked, tucked West's knife into his sash and adjusted his gauntlet.

"Well, that's where it gets interesting." he smirked.

"Interesting and painful!" Xerxes added excitedly as he slithered around West's sand-bound body before returning to Mozenrath's side. West gulped as Mozenrath gained a look of amusement and raised his gauntlet which began to glow electric blue. Flames and sparks of the same color appeared around his gauntlet as he pointed his hand at West. Before the theif had time to even blink, the blue energy shot out of Mozenrath's hand and hit West directly in the chest, causing the theif to let out a blood-curtling scream. The energy stabbed her chest multiple times, creating a mixed feeling of being burnt and electrocuted, repeating over and over, the pain increasing every second. West could only scream to try and relieve herself of the pain she was in.

"Go ahead and scream all you want!" Mozenrath yelled so that West could hear him. "Anyone who hears you won't care!" after what seemed like forever, Mozenrath pulled his gauntlet away just as the energy surrounding his gauntlet extinguished. West fell limply in her bonds, panting heavily. There was nothing but the sound of West's breathing for a moment until Mozenrath strode over to her, roughly grasped her chin in his gloved hand and forced the theif to look up into the sorcerer's merciless eyes. While Xerxes floated around watching.

"That hurt, didn't it? You don't want me to do that again, do you?" Mozenrath asked in mock sympathy. West didn't reply, she just looked on with pain-filled brown eyes. Mozenrath growled in frustration and violenly pulled her up to his face by her shirt causing the thief to released a shocked shreik. "I asked you a question and I demand an awnser!"

"Awnser! Respect master!" Xerxes added as West finally regained her confidence.

"Yeah, well you can torture me all you want! Forget it; I'm not telling you anything!" West roared, but almost regretted it when Mozenrath pushed his lips together and arched his eyebrows in anger as he let go of West. The theif cringed, preparing for the worst.

"Well, I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, for your own good. But, it appears you need a more... Efficient form of persuasion." Mozenrath snapped his fingers and unexpectedly the sand binding West vanished, causing the theif to fall on all fours on the ground. However, West had no time to react as Mozenrath painfully gabbed her wrist in a grip so tight West was afraid she was going to loose circulation. The sorceror then forcefully pulled her to her feet. Standing there, West noticed her knife was still tucked away in Mozenrath's sash.

_If I could just get my knife, I could fight this creep. Or at least escape. _West thought as Mozenrath dragged her to the door she came in, into Agrabah's streets, "Where are you taking me?" she demanded.

"To my kingdom in the Land of the Black Sands of course," Mozenrath stated with a smirk, "I'm sure to find something in my lab to convince you to tell me what I want to know."

"WHAT?" West exclaimed as she struggled against the sorceror's grip, "I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE WITH YOU! LET ME GO!"

"Quiet!" Xerxes yelled "Theif prisoner!" Mozenrath growled in anger as he lifted West's wrist up, pulling her face up to his. His glove glowed again as he held it dangerously close to her face.

"I swear, theif. If you don't be quiet soon I'm going to-" Mozenrath had no time to finish his sentence as he was interrupted.

"Leave her alone!" A squeaky voiceexclaimed as something wizzed by Mozenrath and distracted him long enough for West to wiggle loose as a small black mouse dressed in red, yellow and black holding a purple-star themed key weapon hit Mozenrath in the back of the head and shot Xerxes with a blast of golden light. Athletically, the mouse jumped right beside West and held out his gloved hand.

"Thanks," West beamed, looking down at the mouse and rubbing her wrist as an attempt to soothe the pain.

"No problem! But we better go before he gets mad." the mouse stated and sure enough, Mozenrath slowly rose to his feet with pure rage on his face. West and the newcomer wasted no time in sprinting down the streets while Mozenrath violently grabbed Xerxes, who had fallen on the ground. And then began shaking the eel violently.

"Don't just lay there! Get them!" Mozenrath angrily shouted, pointing in the direction the two had gone.

"Xerxes going!" the eel choked as he flew off. West and the stranger ran as fast as they could through the marketplace, sharply turning corners. Out of the corner of her eye West saw Xerxes flying after them. Wasting no time, the duo turned the nearest corner, ducking behind a ratty curtain. Through the curtain, they saw Xerxes's silhouette flying around the alley and muttering to himself before giving up and flying away. With their persuer gone, West and the stranger released sighs of relief.

"Hey, thanks for the help back there, I owe ya one." West said to the mouse, "The name's West."

"Nice ta meecha West, I'm Mickey." the mouse replied as he dismissed his weapon in a flash of golden light.

**PrismRain13: you would not believe how long it took me to get over the writer's block I had! And just so you know, Mickey is wearing his clothes from _Chain of Memories._**

**Mozenrath: I can't believe you allowed that theif to escape from me!**

**PrismRain13: chillax, you'll get your moment.**

**Xerxes: Read and review! Or Xerxes bite!**

**PrismRain13: *glares***


	17. Failures and Adjustments

**Aladdin: *after reading last chapter* how could you do this to me?! I thought I was one of your favorites?!**

**PrismRain13: I needed to come up with a reason why you were in the quicksand in KH1 that had something to do with Riku.**

**Abu: Riku okay?**

**Aladdin: He'll be okay, Abu. Remember, he came back in Kingdom Hearts 2. PrismRain13 still claims no ownership of anything she writes about; nor does she own the OC from MysteryGirl or the 4 characters from my TV series in this chapter.**

_**Chapter 17: Failures and Adjustments**_

Maleficent strode out into the Agrabah streets out of her green flames, which disappeared as quickly as they came. The hot sun beat down on her dark robes, yet the witch showed no sign that she felt any warmth. Maleficent strode through the practically deserted city streets until she found Jafar standing in front of the castle gates almost admiring his handy work. The Arabian sorceror must have felt her presence because he turned around to face her with a smirk of accomplishment on his face.

"You arrived much quicker than I expected," Jafar stated calmly.

"I had nothing better to do, so why not come check on your progress?" the witch replied smugly as they both strode through the streets, "So tell me, how is young West?"

"I've hired a young sorceror from the Land of the Black Sands to get the required information out of her," Jafar replied, "He seemed quite eager to get started."

"Well, when you see this-"

"Mozenrath,"

"Mozenrath again, tell him that I would very much like to discuss his position in our ranks. And Riku?" Maleficent stated.

"I sent him to retrieve the lamp; I have a feeling the darkness will grow within him."

"Excellent," Maleficent nodded her approval, "And the Keyhole?" at this point the two had stopped in the middle of the marketplace.

"The heartless are searching for it now, I'm certain we'll find it soon enough. So that just leaves..." Jafar didn't have a chance to finish as a squawk was heard from above and Iago flew down on Jafar's shoulder.

"Jafar! I've looked everywhere for Jasmine! She's disappeared like magic!" the bird reported.

"Hmph, the girl is more trouble than she's worth." Jafar huffed.

"You said you had things under control." Maleficent snarled in annoyance.

"Agrabah is full of holes for rats to hide in," The Arabian replied, "But why worry about Princess Jasmine? Surely this world will be ours once we find the keyhole." Maleficent shook her head.

"We need all seven princess of heart to open the final keyhole, any fewer is useless."

"Well, if the princess is that important, we'll find her." Jafar replied with a smirk, as he snapped his fingers and a small army of Bandit heartless appeared, brandishing their swords, "Find Jasmine and bring her to me at once!" as their reply, the heartless ran off in separate directions down the streets with Iago flying closely behind them. Jafar stepped in front of Maleficent and began to stride after Iago.

"Don't let your heart steep in darkness too long; the heartless consume the careless." the witch warned with a hint of smugness in her voice, to which Jafar only laughed and turned to face her.

"Your concern is touching but hardly necessary." Jafar turned his back to the witch once more, leaving her in the middle of the streets. No one noticed a young dark-skinned woman dressed in royal fabric clothing and golden jewelry with long black hair tied in two gold bands, gasping at what she had just heard.

Meanwhile, Riku and Mushu were still riding on carpet as the Arabian city came into view. The islander pushed down on carpet, signaling for him to go down, to which carpet reluctantly complied. The rug landed in a hole in a building that revealed itself to be a make-shift apartment with multiple rugs and worn-down walls.

"Man I gotta pity the kinda guy that lives here!" Mushu stated as Riku nodded in agreement. There was a moment of silence until there was the sound of fabric moving against the stone floor. In a split second, Riku spun around to find carpet trying to sneak out of the entrance. Riku had no control when the dark aura surrounded his body again, his eyes turned yellow again as he jumped on to carpet with his arms wrapped around the rug, pinning it to the ground.

"What?!" Riku demanded in a voice that wasn't his and had no control as the words left his mouth, "You want to go back for Aladdin?! That street rat had it coming! And guess what, you're not going anywhere!" Carpet tugged and struggled against Riku as the young man dragged him over to a small nearby wooden side table, lifted it up, shoved carpet underneath it and slammed the table on top of him. Carpet struggled and tried to pull himself out, but couldn't.

"That should hold you." Riku snarled as the dark aura around him dissapeared and his eyes returned to normal. With a headache coming, Riku placed his hand on his forehead as an attempt to soothe the pain as he leaned up against the wall for support. Mushu looked up at the young man, and climbed onto his shoulder.

"Ya know, you're starting to get scary." the dragon said, "And I seriously doubt that Maleficent lady's going to be much help. If anything she'll probably make it worse. Listen to your guardian dragon, man!"

"I know," Riku sighed, "But she's all I have right now. We'll just give Jafar the lamp, find West and the princess and we'll get off this world." Mushu rolled his eyes but nodded as he and Riku took one last look at the struggling magic carpet before they jumped out into the quiet streets. As Riku squinted, he could just barely make out a small flying red parrot in the middle of the streets. They both recognized it as Iago as Mushu climbed back into Riku's pocket just as the bird flew up to them.

"It's about time!" Iago stated crankily, "Jafar's been getting' real antsy!"

"Sorry, punctuality's not my best quality." Riku grumbled as he crossed his arms.

"Yeah, whatever." Iago stated, "Just cough up the lamp already!" at that moment, Jafar stepped up into the streets, out of the shadows and Iago sat on the sorcerer's shoulders.

"Iago, I believe he will be 'coughing up' the lamp to me." Jafar stated. Riku looked around the space, expecting West to be with them, yet the thief was nowhere in sight.

"Where's West?" the islander asked. Iago smirked.

"Where is she? Man, kid you're slow! She's just-" before Iago could go on, Jafar clamped Iago's beak shut with his long fingers, glaring at the parrot before letting go and turning back to Riku.

"You must forgive my associate dear boy; he obviously does not understand when it is appropriate to shut his beak and get to the point. What he meant was that it seems darling young West got herself... sidetracked from the task I had given her. I suspect that if she does not begin to pull her weight soon, we will have to take over." Riku raised his eyebrow at what Jafar had to say, but didn't comment as the sorcerer extended his hand towards the silver-haired boy. "Now then Riku, why don't we take a look at that lamp?"

Riku gave a short nod and reached into the pocket where he had stored the lamp, but felt nothing. Frantic, Riku felt all around his pockets, but the only found Mushu and two bottles of potions.

"The lamp's gone!" Riku exclaimed while Jafar and Iago looked at each other then at Riku with shock. "I-I swear I grabbed it from him when he was in the quicksand-" Riku began to stammer but then stopped as he remembered what may have happened to the lamp as a snarl appeared on his face, "The monkey!"

~*KH*~

"Gosh, it sounds like you've got your work cut out for you." Mickey exclaimed to West, who had just finished explaining her story to him. They were now sitting across from eachother at a small table in the back of the Skull and Dagger, a hidden pub dedicated to Agrabah's most cunning thieves. Most of the customers were smelly theives with bad breath in various ratty clothes and a wide variety of body types among them

"Yeah, I guess." West replied as she nervously glanced around the space; most of the theives were giving them dirty looks but so far no one made a move over to them. "I still can't believe I'm talking to _the_ King Mickey." At that statement, West calmed her nerves down and looked back at Mickey.

"Well, Leon sure didn't waste any time telling the Heartless Resistance about my visit. Still, in all the years I've known him I don't understand why he's never told me about you or any of the younger kids you live with."

"Leon's just really overprotective. I guess he thought I'd beg to go with you and make a huge scene; like I do whenever Kyra or anyone else went to other worlds." West replied with a nervous giggle. Mickey managed a small laugh before his face turned serious.

"What really puzzles me is how that Mozenrath fella knew about the Heartless Resistance. He didn't say anything else?" Mickey asked. West shook her head when a large dark shadow loomed over their table. Both West and Mickey looked up into the face of a tall, dark-skinned, muscular theif dressed in ratty clothes glaring down at them with his arms crossed.

"Pardon me, little girl." the man said condescendingly in his heavily accented voice, "This place is for thieves and assassins only. Now if you don't mind, BOTH OF YOU GET OUT BEFORE I MAKE YOU!" West snarled at him and stood up from her seat, a deep glare in her eyes.

"First of all I _am_ a theif, moron! Second, who gives you the right to just kick people out? And another thing-" before West could continue, she felt someone tug her wrist down. She looked down to find Mickey holding her and looking up with a concerned look. The theif bent down to his level as the mouse king whispered in her ear,

"We better leave now; we don't want to upset these guys more than we already have. Besides, Mozenrath must have moved on by now." West gave a nod and turned back to the thug and released a sigh of annoyance.

"Okay, we're leaving now. Happy?" West asked as the thug gave a responsive grunt and walked away from them. West rolled her eyes as she and Mickey exited the pub through the ratty curtain used as a door. The streets appeared to be almost deserted and eerily quiet, until two boys seemed to appear out of nowhere and raced past them. Both looked to be around twelve or thirteen and stopped a few feet ahead of Mickey and West to catch their breath.

The first looked native to the Agrabah city. He was shorter than his friend with bucked teeth, incredibly messy shoulder-length black hair, vibrant freckles, dark skin and dark brown eyes. He was barefoot and wearing a long-sleeved yellowish white shirt with torn sleeves, a long dark orange vest and a dark green torn sash covering his bottom half.

The second was slightly taller with wavy dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes and looked completely out of place as compared to the rest of the Agrabah citizens. He was wearing grey, baggy pants, a blue shirt, a black belt with a slingshot tuck in the side, black sneakers with red and brown lining, a round compass around his neck and a steel-grey colored short-sleeved jacket. Mickey and West looked at them quizzically as they began talking to each other.

"Waheed, I really don't think we should have stolen that." The blond wheezed.

"Don't be such a worry-wart, Garnet." The dark-haied boy, Waheed smirked as he pulled out a bag full of coins, "The city's deserted, no one's going to be looking for any street rats or stolen gold." Garnet crossed his arms and shook his head.

"But haven't you even thought about why the streets are so empty?" Garnet asked. "What if something's wrong? What if we should be hiding too?"

"_What if something's wrong_?" Waheed mocked, "Yeah right; everyone's just being paranoid, there's nothing to be scared of!" However, no sooner had the words left his mouth then the two were surrounded by a menacing group of bandit heartless. They were all eying the boys hungrily and waving their swords around in a threatening manner. Garnet and Waheed gasped in shock and fear before backing up until they collided with each other.

"Heartless!" West and Mickey both exclaimed. In a flash of golden light, Mickey's Keyblade appeared as he stood in a battle-ready stance. As a reflex, West reached into a holster under her hoodie where she normally kept her knife. Only when she felt nothing did she remember that Mozenrath had taken it.

"Keep the heartless busy for awhile; I need to find a weapon." West told Mickey while the mouse king nodded and jumped in front of the two boys, preparing for battle. Without a second thought, West darted back into the Skull and Dagger. The thieves shot her dirty looks, but she ignored them as she desperately looked around for some sort of knife. At that moment West looked ahead to find two men sitting at a table near the wall. One was short and tubby with a black goatee, grey and blue Arabian robes and a small turban failing to cover his bald head. The other was tall, thin and black with gold hoop earrings dressed in yellow and green robes. The tubby one was buttering a slice of bread and West sprinted up to him and pulled the knife right out of his hand.

"Sorry! I need this!" West exclaimed as she ran out of the pub with the butter knife in her hand.

"Hey! I was using that!" the tubby man pouted and yelled after her, but West was long gone. West burst through the curtain and ran towards the battle in the streets. Wahhed and Garnet had pulled out their own weapons and were fighting alongside Mickey. Garnet was firing at the heartless with the slingshot he had tucked into his belt and Waheed was attacking their opponents using a long wooden pole. One of the bandit heartless was just about to jump Waheed, but then West tackled it to the ground and slashed it several times with the butter knife. It wasn't as accurate as her old knife had been, and was extremely slippery to hold, but it would have to do. Mickey was having far more success in destroying the heartless attacking him; destroying the small shadows with bursts of light magic and jumping around the Fat Bandits, making it difficult for them to attack him. Waheed was clumsily waving his pole around, but still managed to get rid of a few heartless. Garnet stayed at a safe distance, firing small rocks from his slingshot at the heartless, causing some damage and confusing them long enough for someone else to deliver the final blow.

By this time all the heartless had been destroyed and the four put away their weapons? West tucked the butter knife away, even though the holster was too big for it. The two boys released sighs of relief before Waheed crossed his arms and glared at Mickey and West.

"Ya had to get in our way? We could have taken them!" The street rat grumbled.

"Waheed, they helped us! You should show a little appreciation!" Garnet scolded while Waheed rolled his eyes, "Thanks for the help, we would have been goners. I'm Garnet and this is Waheed." West nodded, but eyed Garnet and his attire closely; he looked nothing like the rest of the Agrabah natives, despite knowing the streets very well.

"You're not from around here, are you?" West asked as Garnet shrugged.

"I guess not; I showed up here when I was seven and been hanging out with Waheed ever since," Garnet said indicating his scowling friend, "I can't remember anything before that though. All I have from back then is this compass which I guess must have been from my dad." West opened her mouth in shock at Garnet's story, noticing the similarities between her story and his. West touched her bandanna thinking back to her days growing up in Traverse Town under the wing of Leon and the Heartless Resistance. Always drawing a blank on her past, wanting more than anything to learn who she was, if she had a family that missed her, what world she came from or why her memories were missing in the first place.

"Wow, looks like you had your work cut out for you." A new voice said from behind the group, snapping West out of her thoughts. The group turned around to find a young pretty woman around eighteen years old leaned up against the wall casually. She was dark-skinned with long, frizzy messy hair with two stands on either side of her face tied up with gold bands. She was barefoot and dressed in rags that consisted of patched-up poofy white pants, a blue sash tied around her waist and a white long-sleeved shirt with a green vest overtop.

"You could have helped us out, Sadira." Waheed grumbled while Sadira walked up to the two boys and ruffled their hair.

"Why would I want to spoil your fun?" Sadira laughed then turned to Mickey and West. "Thanks for the help back there; these two just don't know how to stay out of trouble."

"It was no big deal." Mickey stated, as West nodded in agreement. "We would have done it for anyone."

"No, seriously thank you." Sadira said, "Not that many people would have done what you just did. If you guys ever need anything at all, my ears are wide open." West seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, before facing Sadira again with her reply clear in her mind.

"Well, what do you know about a guy named Mozenrath?" West asked with hope beginning to form.

**PrismRain13: yeah, Agrabah's taking a lot longer to get through than I expected, but I guess I have more material here than I did for the other worlds Riku went to solo. Maybe in a chapter or two I'll wrap things up and move on to Monstro?**

**Aladdin: Garnet is an OC from MysteryGirl; the Skull and Dagger, the thieves, Waheed and Sadira are all from my TV series.**

**PrismRain13: yeah, you deserve the epicness cuz you're awesome :) remember to review!**


	18. Lord of the Black Sands

**PrismRain13: happy holidays! Here's my gift to you!**

**Jasmine: we apologize for the wait.**

**PrismRain13: school has taken up a crapload of my time! I sill own nothing and hope you enjoy my longest chapter yet!**

_**Chapter 18: Lord of the Black Sands**_

"You've disappointed me, Riku!" Jafar scolded, a snarl on his face. He and Riku were standing outside the palace gates, the islander leaned up against the wall with his arms crossed. Iago had left a little while ago to patrol the city. "I am beginning to wonder why Maleficent puts up with you and the theif. We took you in, gave you shelter when anyone else would have turned you away! All I ask of you in return is for you to preform one simple task; get me the lamp. And you fail me!"

Jafar's words stung Riku's heart, but he refused to cry. Mushu, somehow feeling Riku's pain climbed onto his back and patted his shoulder in a comforting fashion. Riku managed a small smile knowing that the dragon was still with him, and scratched him behind the ears. Snapping himself back to the present, Riku glared at Jafar.

"Well excuse me for failing you where you couldn't do any better! This is your world and its not my problem!" Riku snapped.

"I'd watch my tongue if I were you boy!" Jafar snapped causing Riku to jump, "You are forgetting that I am much higher in power than you are; almost equal to Maleficent. Just for this failure alone I can order the worst pain imaginable upon you!"

"What do you want me to do!?" the islander demanded, trying to seem strong, "The lamp's gone; there's nothing I can do about it! I wish there was but there isn't!" At Riku's last statement, Jafar's head perked up, an evil smirk creeping on his lips.

"Maybe not." the sorcerer stated, "But, if you truly want to redeem yourself, then perhaps you can take over for young West. Seeing as how she's far too busy with something off topic."

"You mean, find this princess?" Riku asked. Jafar nodded.

"Yes, and if you do happen to find West; don't bother her, she needs to learn to pull her own weight."

"Fine, I'll take a look around town then." Riku grumbled, pushing himself off the wall and wandering into the streets. Not bothering to look back, Riku kept his focus ahead of him. Mushu climbed back on to Riku's shoulder and for awhile neither one said anything.

"I can't believe I lost the lamp to that stupid monkey!" Grumbled Riku, breaking the silence. "It was humiliating!"

"Ya can't really blame the monkey for biting you though, you did just leave them there-"

"I didn't really have much of a choice." Riku interrupted, "That was my one chance to find Kairi..." Riku allowed his voice to trail off as something caught his eye. A young Arabian woman with long, black hair dressed in a blue-green top and matching pants, but what really caught his eye was the fact that she was running and looked worried and the expensive-looking jewelry she was wearing.

"That's gotta be the princess!" Riku exclaimed and without a second thought, ran after the woman. Mushu only shrugged his shoulders and climbed into Riku's pocket. Riku continued to chase after the girl, keeping a fair distance so she wouldn't know she was being followed. After a few moments, the princess finally stopped in the empty marketplace, leaning against a fruit stand. Riku remained hidden around the corner, prepared at any moment to strike. Until Mushu jumped onto his shoulder again, interrupting his thoughts.

"You sure you wanna do this?" The dragon asked, "There oughta be tons of people out there who can help."

Riku either didn't hear Mushu or chose to ignore him because the dragon received no reply from the silver-haired boy. Shrugging his shoulders, the dragon, climbed back into Riku's pocket. The noise of Mushu's movement was enough to disturb the princess as she snapped her head up and began cautiously looking around the area.

"Hello?" She called out, a sliver of fear in her voice, "Is anyone there?" At that moment, Riku decided to make himself known, stepping out of the shadows and carefully walking towards the princess.

"Hi." Riku barely whispered, "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just curious, are you Princess Jasmine by any chance?" She seemed to relax a little, tagging Riku as not a threat. She nodded.

"Yes. Are you friends with Sora, Donald and Goofy?" Jasmine asked pointing out Riku's attire. At the sound of Sora's name Riku couldn't help but snarl in disgust.

"No." Riku replied. "I'm actually working with Jafar." No sooner had the words left his mouth, Jasmine had released a shocked gasp, shaking her head and slowly began backing away from him. A split second later Jasmine had broken out into a run down the streets. Riku wasted no time in running after her, quickly gaining speed thanks to all the races he had participated in back at the islands. As soon as he was close enough, Riku reached out a hand and roughly gasped the end of her black ponytail. Jasmine released a scream of fear and pain as she collapsed to the sand-coated ground. Her falling to the ground, Riku used all of his strength to keep the struggling princess pinned down.

"Please! Let me go!" Jasmine pleased while trying to squirm out of Riku's grip, "You don't understand, Jafar will destroy Agrabah!"

"Do you think I care?" Riku suddenly snapped, once again his eyes turning yellow. "Only one thing matters to me; finding her" as his thoughts shifted towards Kairi, the yellow dissolved from his eyes. Jasmine stopped her struggling for a brief moment, allowing what Riku had said to sink in. That moment was enough for Riku to haul the princess to her feet, pin her arms behind her back and force her to start walking back towards the palace. Jasmine looked over her shoulder towards Riku and took a deep breath before speaking again.

"Look, I understand what you're going through." Jasmine spoke calmly. "I know you think this is the only way; but its not. You have to listen, I know Jafar. He will do anything to get what he wants, and he won't care about helping you find your friend!" Riku was about to respond, but at that moment they had reached the palace and Jafar was walking over to them with a smug expression on his face.

"Jasmine, my dear. How kind of you to join us. You should have known it was only a matter of time before we found you again." Stated Jafar. Just looking at the sorcerer was enough for Jasmine to wriggle out of Riku's grip and march over to him angrily.

"You'll get what's coming to you Jafar! Just you wait! Aladdin will-"

"Aladdin?" Jafar asked with a smirk, "I see no reason to be worried about that simple street rat any longer. Riku has taken care of him." Jasmine released a small gasp at Jafar's words, then turned to Riku. as though she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"It's true. I left him to drown in quicksand." was all Riku said. Jasmine just stood there, staring at him in disbelief. A second later Iago flew down from the sky and landed on Jafar's shoulder, the bird had a panicked look in his face.

"We got a problem!" The parrot squawked. "Aladdin's alive! I just saw him flying into the city on a magic carpet with the kid with the key, a duck and a dog! And he's got the lamp!" Jafar looked just as equally shocked as everyone else, before his expression turned to one of anger as he turned to Riku.

"I thought you said you took care of him!" The sorcerer roared.

"I did! I even put the carpet under a dresser so it couldn't fly away!" Riku replied. "Sora must have found the carpet and took them to save Aladdin; it was set on going back for him when I got here."

"Well then, it appears there must be a change in plans. Riku, go wait for me somewhere where the Keyblade boy won't see you; I don't want you distracted from the task at hand." Jafar stated calmly, Riku was about to object before Jafar shot him a dangerous glare. Huffing in response, the islander opened a wooden door leading into a storage area with open windows.

From his hiding spot, Riku saw Sora and Aladdin jump down in front of Jafar with looks of determination.

"You're really just gonna sit here?" Mushu asked climbing onto Riku's shoulder as he crouched down behind the door so he wouldn't have to watch.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Riku asked, glaring at the dragon.

"I'm just saying, maybe you should try looking at things from your friend's perspective." Mushu suggested, "Maybe there's a reason he's hanging out on the other side."

"If he's willing to ditch the duck and dog for Kairi, then my ears are wide open." Was the only reply Riku gave as he watched a blue genie pick up Jasmine, then saw Iago steal the lamp back from Aladdin as the genie was forced to disappear and drop Jasmine in a pot. Riku smirked as he saw Sora, Aladdin, Donald and Goofy become surrounded by a centipede-like heartless made out of pots. And Jafar vanish from sight.

Riku didn't notice Mushu climb down from his shoulder, jump to the ground and start running into the empty streets.

"Okay, that's it!" the dragon said to himself, "I gotta go find West, she needs to talk some sense into this kid!" Once Mushu was gone Jafar reappeared behind Riku causing the islander to jump.

"Well it would seem you are capable of following orders. Come boy, we best be leaving." Jafar said with an amused smirk, Riku stood up to his feet.

"Where are we going?" He asked. Jafar simply pulled out the lamp and grabbed hold of Riku's arm.

"Back to the Cave of Wonders; I have a feeling the keyhole will be there." Without a second to think Riku disappeared along with Jafar and Iago.

~*KH*~

West was hiding in a hovel under the streets of Agabah with Mickey, Garnet, Waheed and Sadira. Sadira had explained that this was where she lived and allowed Garnet and Waheed to stay with her when they needed it. Right now, Sadira was digging through her collection of stollen books until she decided on a large, heavy red tomb.

"Mozenath, huh?" Sadira asked, flipping through the book until she found the page she was looking for, "All it says here is that he's one of the most powerful sorcerers of our age and rules the land of the black sand."

"He already told me that." West replied somewhat impatiently. "Does it say anything about how to beat him?" Sadira sadly shook her head.

"All it talks about is how powerful he is and how he defeated his mentor, the sorcerer Destane and stole his kingdom. You'd think they might want to mention where he got all that power from."

"Well that was useless information!" Waheed grumbled and West sighed in defeat.

"Is there anything else we can do? It didn't seem like we were able to help you much." Garnet asked. West shook her head.

"No, it's okay. I should be getting back out anyway. Thanks for the help." She rose to her feet and stretched, then turned to Mickey. "Mickey, can you do me a favour?" Mickey nodded his head, encouraging he to continue. "Can you go back to Traverse Town and let everyone know I'm okay, and what my plan is?"

"Sure, West." Mickey replied. "But, are you sure you can take care of yourself? What if Mozenrath finds you again?"

"I'll improvise. I need to get my knife back and stand up to him at some point, right? Might as well be sooner rather than later." West replied.

"If you need anything else, you'll come find us, right?" Sadira asked, hugging her.

"Yeah. I'll se you guys around." West replied as she returned the hug and then hugged Garnet, Waheed and Mickey. The mouse king waved his goodbye before pulling out a small blue and yellow star piece. He held it up into the air and in a flash of white light he was gone.

West waved to the remaining three, exited the hovel and came out in the middle of a darkened alleyway. She released a sigh, feeling useless and defenceless without the knife Leon had synthesized for her tenth birthday, feeling that it was time to teach her how to protect herself. It was the first time she felt that she was strong enough.

"Hey! Pigtails!" A voice called from behind her. West snapped out of her thoughts and turned to find Mushu running towards her.

"Mushu?" West asked, the dragon climbing on to her shoulder. "What are you doing here? Where's Riku?"

"That's the thing; you need to go talk to talk to that kid!" Mushu said while West raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I don't know what's wrong with him, but he keeps acting out, attacking people and his eyes keep changing colour!" After hearing what Mushu had to say, West's expression suddenly turned to one of concern for Riku.

"Were is he now? We need to find him and help him." West asked.

"He and Jafar just took off to the Cave of Wonders with the princess."

"Sadira told me about that place. But she said it was in the middle of the dessert; it'll be ages before we find it!"

"Well then, perhaps I could be of assistance." A familiar voice rang through the alley. West gasped, she knew who was calling out to them and pulled out the butter knife, shaking with a small amount of fear. Mushu climbed on to West's head, ready to use his fire if he needed to.

Almost instantly Mozenrath appeared in front of the duo in a flash of blue flames, a triumphant smirk on his face. West could see her knife still tucked into his sash,she wanted nothing more than to tackle the sorcerer to the ground and take her knife back by force, but West knew she wouldn't last a minute fighting someone like Mozenrath alone. Xerxes was floating around his master's shoulders with a matching smirk. Beside Mozenrath stood the short and nearly bald man West had stolen the butter knife from.

"See! Told you she was here! The little scumbag!" The man said excitedly.

"Thank you for your assistance, Abis-Mal. I'll take care of her from here." Mozenrath told him, never taking his eyes off West. Abis-Mal then marched right over to West and yanked the butter knife out of her hand.

"Hey! Jerk-face!" West snapped, "Way to sell someone out!"

"You don't wanna mess with her guardian dragon do ya?" Mushu demanded.

"Sorry kiddo. But I got a reward to pick up!" Abis-Mal turned to Mozenrath and held out his hand. Mozenrath sighed in annoyance but reached into his sash, pulled out a bag full of coins and dropped it into Abis-Mal's hand. Without a second glance, Abis-Mal took off back towards the Skull and Dagger, laughing excitedly.

"How low can you sink, Mozenrath? Bribing someone like that to get what you want?" West demanded. Xerxes began laughing until Mozenrath grabbed him by the throat, choking him.

"I don't particularly care what you think. Considering I was hired to take care of you."

"Woah! Wait back up!" West exclaimed. "Someone hired you to get information on the heartless resistance out of me? Why?"

"I don't recall that being any of your business." Mozenrath replied. He held out his hand and black sand began to form in his gloved hand. The sand shifted into two long snake-like ribbons and tightly wrapped around West and Mushu's bodies. The sorceror tugged on the sand, pulling his two prisoners towards him, West landing clumsily against his chest. He tightly grasped her shoulder and with the other hand held a squirming Mushu.

"Now then, why don't we go somewhere no one will interrupt us?" Mozenrath asked and in a split second the four had dissapeared in a flash of blue flames.

~*KH*~

Almost as quickly as it came, the light that was moving them disappeared. Riku collapsed to his hands and knees panting for breath, barely taking into account that he was back in the cave of wonders. Once Riku had finally composed himself, he looked to his side and found an unconscious Jasmine laying on the ground next to him.

"I suppose it is time to get down to business." Jafar said, pulling out the lamp and rubbing it. Out of the tip, emerged a cloud of blue smoke. The clouds grew until they formed the shape of the blue genie Aladdin had summoned. He looked different; unhappy and discouraged.

"Looks like you don't need me here anymore." Riku pointed out while the genie's eyes widened at the sight of his clothing and Jasmine's still form.

"I believe I shall be able to handle things here." Jafar replied, holding the lamp greedily. "But if you are really so restless, Riku then perhaps you could go and keep a look out, the heartless I command will not harm you." Seeing no desire to hang around the sorcerer any longer, Riku wasted no time in sprinting down the hall. Once the young man was out of sight, Jafar held up the lamp like a trophy, glaring at the genie imprisoned within it.

"For my first wish, Genie! Show me the Keyhole!" Jafar ordered. Genie frowned at his new master and gestured his thumb toward a spot on the wall. The wall he pointed to fell away into small stones and dust, revealing the golden outline of Agrabah's keyhole. Jafar laughed evilly as a corridor of darkness appeared beside him, Maleficent stepping out of it with a smirk on her face.

"Impressive." The witch stated as they both strode towards the keyhole.

"And you were beginning to doubt me." Jafar laughed.

"A mistake I do not plan to make again. Tell me, has Mozenrath made any progress?"

"He has not spoken to me in some time." The sorcerer replied. "But I am confident that he will contact me to claim his reward once he has done what needs to be done."

"And Riku, what have you told him?" Maleficent's gaze had shifted to the keyhole as she brushed her fingertips across it.

"I said that the girl theif was loosing interest in our cause and becoming preoccupied. At least it will provide an excuse should Mozenrath inflict an unfortunate _accident_ upon her."

"Ah yes. Creative thinking on your part, Jafar."

"There is, however another complication to our cause that we must discuss."

"That boy again?!" Maleficent snapped, thinking of Riku's former friend who had been sealing the keyholes.

"He is more persistent than I expected." Jafar admitted. "Why not explain the situation to that boy, Riku? Doing so may actually prove useful to our-" the sorcerer's speech was soon interrupted by the appearance of Sora, Donald, Goofy and Aladdin at the entrance of the chamber. Sora was the first to step forward, squinting at the witch.

"Wait a second. Are you Maleficent?" The young keybearer asked. The only response the witch gave him a small smile and a short not before vanishing into thin air. Leaving Jafar to step forward with a full intent to use the genie to destroy the four who stood in his way.

Meanwhile, Riku was wandering through the cave. It had been quiet, when he was alone was usually when Mushu came out of hiding to talk to him. The islander had to admit, he was getting worried about the dragon.

"Look, Mushu." Riku sighed. "I'm sorry, okay? Just, please talk to me. Mushu?" The young man reached down to his pocket and instantly grew concerned when he felt nothing. What happened to him?

"I won't ask you again!" A voice echoed through the caves. "Where is the heartless resistance hiding?!" Curiosity overtaking him, Riku inched himself closer to where he heard the voice. It was coming from deep within a hole in the ground, leading to a dark chamber. Riku knelt down over the edge and gasped at what he saw; West tied up in black sand, standing in the middle of a large round rock surrounded by water. Mushu was bound in the same material at her feet. Standing in front of them, looking enraged was a young black-haired sorceror with a scary-looking eel hovering around him. The sorcerer raised his gloved hand as blue energy erupted from it and hi West directly in the chest, the thief releasing a pained scream that didn't end until the man pulled back his hand.

"Hey! You gonna be sorry!" Mushu snapped as the eel flew up to him.

"No sorry! We winning!" The eel retorted.

"I already said I wasn't going to tell you anything Mozenrath!" West fearfully told him. "You can just forget it!"

"Well then, I suppose I should stay true to my word." Mozenrath calmly said as he pulled at his gauntlet. "Its been nice knowing you West. Then again, no it hasn't!" West gulped on fear as his gauntlet began to glow a menacing electric blue with several sparks, ready to fire at West.

"West! Move!" Riku screamed without a second thought. At that exact moment, the rubble underneath him gave way, causing him to fall down into the cavern on top of Mozenrath.

"Riku! You're okay!" The theif exclaimed excitedly. Riku had no time to react when Mozenrath shoved the islander off him, jumped to his feet and pulled the teenager up to his face by his shirt. Staring deeply into the sorcerer's angry eyes.

"So, you must be the knight in shining armor West here keeps talking about." Mozenrath snarled. "You picked the wrong sorceror to mess with, kid!"

"And you picked the wrong kid to mess with!" Riku retorted. In a split second, Soul Eater had appeared in his hand and he slashed Mozenrath across the leg. The pain was enough for Mozenrath to loosen his hold and for Riku to wriggle loose. Then, he ratoe awards the imprisoned West and Mushu and cut their bonds with one swipe. Once free, West wasted no time in ripping the knife out of Mozenrath's sash and standing beside Riku and Mushu in a battle stance. Mozenrath clutched his leg with his gloved hand as the blue light appeared over the wound. Then, the sorcerer stood up as though the injury had never even been there at all. He glared at the teenagers and the dragon with pure hatred.

"Are you clear on how excruciatingly painful my powers can be?!" Mozenrath roared. He raised his hand into the air as he levitated up to a floating bolder and more rocks surrounded the group. Xerxes was about to go attack the two teenagers, before he was tackled to the ground by Mushu.

"You go fight Jafar Jr! I'll deal with eel-face over here!" Mushu called while Riku and West both nodded in response and raised their weapons. Mozenrath wasted no time in jumping back down in front of his opponents and fired a blast of blue fire at Riku. At that moment, West shoved him out of the way, causing the blast to send her colliding with the spinning rocks, dealing a lot of damage. Riku ran straight towards Mozenrath, swiping at him with Soul Eater and firing blasts of dark fire at him. Mozenrath skillfully dodged every attack and absorbed every dark fire attacks. West weakly pushed herself up to her feet, gulped down a potion she had and ran right back into the battle. She tried to get in close enough to stab him, but the sorceror proved to be too fast for either of them. And was attacking them with powerful, painful blasts of his magic.

"He's too powerful!" West exclaimed to Riku as they stood back-to-back. "We need to use that fusion attack Maleficent told us about!"

"If you've got any idea on how to do that, be my guest!" Riku retorted, pulling West out of the way of another blast. The two teenagers were knocked to the ground as Mozenrath smirked down at them. West and Riku looked into each other's eyes, held each other's hands and jumped to their feet.

"Riku!"

"Let's finish this!" The two teenagers sped around the space slashing at Mozenrath upon every impact. The teenagers stood back-to-back again, raising both sword and knife. Then, after nodding towards each other bolted towards their enemy and cut him both at the same time, sending Mozenrath colliding backwards.(1) The sorcerer gasped in pain as he clutched his chest and glared at the teenagers who had defeated him.

"You will pay!" Mozenrath roared, reaching out to grab Riku, his gauntlet glowing with painful energy. At the last possible second, Riku grabbed Mozenrath's wrist, pushing the blue flames away. Unexpectedly, West jumped on to Mozenrath's back, distracting the sorcerer long enough for Riku to yank the gauntlet off him. West jumped off him and stood next to Riku just as Mozenrath tumbled to the ground and the rocks stopped spinning. Seeing his master fall, Xerxes squirmed out of Mushu's hold and flew up beside him.

"It's over Mozenrath." Riku stated, holding up the gauntlet. "We won."

"You fool! I need my gauntlet!" Mozenrath snapped, holding up his once covered hand to reveal it had been reduced to bone. Riku stared uneasily and West looked like she was about to throw up.

"Oh that is nasty!" Mushu squirmed.

"This is what I did for power! Gave up my right hand! I will not loose all I worked for to the likes of you!" The sorcerer snarled furiously.

"That's how you took over the land of the black sands." West realized after she swallowed down her disgust. "You're powerless without this, aren't you?" Mozenrath didn't awnser, only glared, rose to his feet and petted Xerxes. "Who hired you?" The theif demanded.

"You think I'll tell you anything?" Mozenrath snapped. "You thought wrong!"

"Awnser her!" Riku demanded, holding the gauntlet threateningly over the deep water. "You can't use your magic without this. Awnser her, or I'll drop it!"

"You wouldn't dare!" Mozenrath gasped. Riku only raised an eyebrow before loosening his hold on the gauntlet until he was only holding on with two fingers. "Alright! Alright! It was Jafar! He wanted information on the resistance in exchange for control over the heartless and power over the worlds and the seven deserts!"

"Jafar knew about the heartless resistance?" West asked. "How?"

"I don't know. That's all he told me!"

"And it will be all you need to know." A voice rang through the cave. The group turned to find a burst of green flames appear, as Maleficent emerged from them. At the sight of the witch, Mushu quickly scampered into West's hoodie as the thief clung on to Riku's arm. "Well, Mozenrath is it? I believe it is high time you left my apprentices alone."

"Forget it lady! I won't leave until I have my power back!"

"Very well then." was all the witch said. Without a word she yanked the gauntlet out of Riku's hand and tossed it at Mozenrath's feet. The sorcerer wasted no time in grabbing it and pulling it over his bony fingers. Mozenrath turned to leave, but not before glaring at the two teenagers.

"Mark my words; we will meet again. And when we do I will be more powerful still! I will not loose to the likes of you!" Then, he and Xerxes disappeared in a flash of blue light.

"It appears I was right about Jafar's act of treason." Maleficent sighed. "To torture a poor innocent girl!"

"Okay! Where's Jafar?!" West demanded. "I wanna give that jerk a piece of my mind!"

"He is currently locked in battle with the keyblade boy. Riku, be a dear and go retrieve the princess so we can leave." Riku only nodded and climbed up the stone steps to the lamp chamber. After he was gone, Maleficent placed a hand on West's shoulder. "I must apologize for Jafar's behavior my dear. Are you quite alright?"

"Yeah." West nodded. "Thanks to Riku. If it wasn't for him I'd probably be toast by now!"

"I see... It appears we must thank him then."

At that moment, Jasmine had just awoken from her deep sleep to found herself off to the side of the lamp chamber with a giant hole in the center. Taking a deep breath, Jasmine creeped over to the edge of the hole. Inside, she saw Aladdin, Sora, Donald and Goofy fighting with a giant red genie. Jasmine barely hid a gasp behind her hand as Aladdin barely dodged a fire attack from the genie. When suddenly, Jasmine gained the feeling that she was being watched. The princess spun around to come face-to-face with Riku, standing over her with Soul Eater drawn.

"Sorry." Was all he said before he raised the sword and slammed the hilt into the back of Jasmine's head, knocking her out cold.

**Jasmine: remember to review and thanks for your support!**

**PrismRain13: Nasira; thanks! i'm glad you like the story! Catch you guys later! **

**(1): fusion lv.1: _Blade Slash_**


	19. Found Friend

**PrismRain13: Back with another chapter! Agrabah's done, so now we're moving on! Cool! That rymes!**

**Captain Hook: What is the big idea with only three reviews last chapter?! I'll make you walk the plank for this!**

**PrismRain13: Chillax! It was winter break! Remember to review this time guys! And I still own nothing! Except for West and two new OCs.**

_**Chapter 19: Found Friend**_

Back at Hollow Bastion, West sat down at the steps of the front hall, cradling her face in her hands. It had been awhile since she and Maleficent had arrived back from Agrabah and she hadn't seen Riku come back yet. Mushu was perched on her shoulder, just as worried about Riku as she was.

"So, what do you think happened to Jafar?" The dragon asked.

"No idea." West snarled in disgust, pounding her fists together. "But if that jerk ever shows his face around me again, I'll punch him so hard-"

"Woah, slow down there!" Mushu interrupted, patting her shoulder, "That Key-boy will take care of him."

"Sorry." West sighed. "I guess I'm just worried about that threat Mozenrath gave us. Do you think he meant it, Mushu? Will he really come after us again?"

"I dunno, West. I dunno." Mushu sighed. At that moment, the duo heard footsteps approaching them. Quickly, Mushu jumped into West's hoodie as she stood up to face whoever was coming. Emerging from the doorway, was Hades smirking down at the young thief.

"So, Maleficent told us all about your little encounter with that Mozenrath guy. You okay freckles?"

"Yeah. Riku helped me." West nodded. "What about him, though? Is Riku okay?"

"Why are you worried about him? Shouldn't you be all damsel-in-distress over him and thanking your hero?" Hades laughed, barely controlling himself. West only raised an eyebrow in response.

"I just heard that he wasn't acting like himself. I'm just worried about him." West replied.

"Yeah, sure ya are." Hades laughed until he finally composed himself. "Anyway. Maleficent said that the kid's on his way back and she wants you to take the princess down to the dungeon with the rest. Then you're both gonna get on Hook's ship."

"Why can't Riku take her down? He knows his way around better than I do." West questioned, Hades appearing seconds later behind her, causing the thief to jump. The Lord of the Dead then began pushing her back towards the direction he came.

"We got personal stuff we need to talk to him about. Can't have our friendly chat with you and the princess in the way."

~*KH*~

Releasing heavy breaths, Riku stumbled through the Corridor of Darkness Maleficent had summoned for him. Jasmine was hoisted on his back and still had yet to wake up. As he walked, Riku thought back to the events in Agrabah. His last moments there, he had watched Sora, Aladdin and the two humanoid animals fight a monstrous Genie-Jafar. Watching that fight, he realized deep down, he really wanted Sora to come back. If there was just some way he could make him see...

At that moment, a soft groan escaped from Jasmine's lips as her eyes began to flutter open. That brief moment of peace instantly turned to one of panic as the princess discovered where she was and who had kidnapped her, struggling against Riku's grip.

"Riku! Stop! Please, let me go!" Jasmine screamed. "You don't understand! Jafar won't help you!"

"Jafar's not my problem anymore." Riku snapped. "He's gone. I'm taking you to the rest of his team. They'll help me find Kairi." At that moment, the dark exit of the corridor appeared, Riku wasted no time in walking towards it and ignoring Jasmine's cries of protest. Once stepping out of the corridor, Riku found himself standing in the middle of the Castle Chapel.

All at once, the villains turned to face them. Then, Hades entered the room with West following him. It was surprising how much smaller the group looked without Jafar. Once the corridor was closed, Riku violently threw Jasmine down onto the floor, a pained moan escaping from her lips as she grasped her side.

"Princess Jasmine, I presume?" Maleficent asked with a smirk. "It is so kind of you to join us, my dear." Jasmine glared at the witch as she made her way to her feet.

"I don't see how it's a pleasure when you've had Riku kidnap me." Jasmine snarled. "You won't get away with whatever it is you're planning! Even if Aladdin doesn't find me, Sora, Donald and Goofy will!" Maleficent returned the glare and approached the Arabian princess.

"Is that so?" The witch asked. "Well then, we will have to prepare for their arrival. West, be a dear and show Jasmine to the dungeons with the others."

"Others?" Jasmine demanded, West walked over to her. As both girls looked into each other's eyes, they both gasped as they recognized each other. "You... you're that girl from the marketplace! The one who stole that apple!"

"You had a cloak on." West said. "What happened to that?"

"It was torn to shreds by those monsters." Was the only reply Jasmine gave before Ursula stepped forward, wrapping her tentacles around their shoulders.

"West, dearie. If you are finished chatting with our prisoner, she really must be going to the dungeon." The sea witch smiled down at them, throwing the keys to the cell in West's hand. Starting to feel uncomfortable, West grabbed Jasmine's wrist and pulled her down the hall, out of the chapel. Once they were gone. The group turned towards Maleficent.

"So, what's the news on Jafar?" Oogie asked.

"It would seem he has been defeated by the boy who holds the keyblade, the street rat and the king's fools." Maleficent stated.

"That smarmy vizier could've had 'em-if someone had stuck around to give him a hand." Hades huffed as the group glared down at Riku.

"Hey, I did my part. I brought the princess, didn't I?" The islander stated, crossing his arms.

"Jafar was beyond help, consumed by his own hatred. One should beware of letting it burn too fiercely." Maleficent stated, smirking towards Hades who shook his arms in defense.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Lighten up. I'm as cool as they come, okay?" The Lord of the Dead stated, then turned to Riku. "By the way, kid, have we got something special for you." Riku looked between the villains in confusion, until Maleficent spoke up.

"We had a deal, yes? You helped us, and we grant you your wish..." The witch smirked as she waved her hand over the stone table. There was a flash of light as a hologram of a familiar-looking sleeping girl. Short red hair, bracelets and arm bands, sliver necklace...

"Kairi!" Riku exclaimed as he recognized his friend. He didn't understand why she was sleeping, but he was still so glad he had finally found her. He looked up at Maleficent who smiled down at him.

"Go to her. Your vessel is waiting." The witch told him. Riku turned around to face Captain Hook, who stepped out of the shadows.

"Just remember, this is no pleasure cruise. It won't be a pleasant voyage." The pirate captain announced. Riku stayed quiet as the group's cold eyes stared at him. Something about all this didn't feel right.

"Why are you doing all this for me?" Riku asked. "What's the catch?"

"Catch? What's the catch?" Maleficent asked with a laugh. she turned an bent down towards the young man and gently cupped his face in her hand. "Silly boy. You're like a son to me. I only want you to be happy." Almost as soon as Maleficent's cold fingertips touched his skin, Riku angrily shoved her hand away from his face.

"I seriously doubt that." He snarled. Maleficent glared down at him as she straightened up, her lips pressed into a thin line.

"Believe what you wish. But lest we forget, I kept my end of the bargain." The witch said. Riku remained silent, huffing in response as he turned and stormed out of the chapel. Captain Hook walked beside him, clamping his hand roughly on Riku's shoulder.

"Well, this ought ta be a cheerful reunion for ya, eh lad?" Captain Hook stated. "We'll be off as soon as the scurvy lass is ready and the princess is in the dungeon."

"Yeah, whatever." Riku said. "Is Kairi okay? Where is she now?"

"Your lass is perfectly safe, on my ship. I hope the both of you don't mind pirates." Captain Hook laughed. Riku remained quiet throughout their walk through the castle. Once they had reached the front hall, Hook stepped forward and threw open the doors revealing Hook's pirate ship at the edge of the balcony. As a young boy, he had memories of hearing stories about pirates, but Hook's ship, it was huge! Riku had to wonder if the entire ship would be considered a world itself. Just looking at it, he had to think there could be at least four floors in the ship itself.

Snapping himself out of amazement, Riku turned to Captain Hook, "So where's Kairi?" Hook smirked, before stepping aside and gesturing towards a door.

"She's in me Cabin." The pirate responed. Riku wasted no time in sprinting towards the door, pulling it open and stepping inside. It was easy to spot Kairi, she was laying on a cushioned bench at the far side of the cabin. Instantly, Riku ran over to her side and began shaking her slender shoulders.

"Kairi! Kairi! Come on, wake up!" Riku practically begged, tears starting to trickle down his cheeks. "Kairi?! What's wrong with you? Why won't you wake up?!"

"Nothing yeh do will work, boy. Her heart's gone." Riku spun around, coming face-to-face with Captain Hook and hastily whipped away his tears.

"What do you mean 'her heart's gone'?!" Riku demanded.

"I mean what I said, lad. She was like this when me men found her; no heartbeat, won't move and won't wake." Hook replied, not a single hint of sympathy in his voice.

"Then, what can I do?" demanded Riku. "What can I do to save her?!"

"For finding her heart? Forget it! It'll be lost forever!"

"What if I can find her another heart?" Captain Hook stared at Riku, speechless. Then, without warning, the pirate burst into laughter.

"_Find_ her another heart? You're ridiculous boy! Where in the world will you find a spare heart just waiting for you to take?"

~*KH*~

Meanwhile, West and Jasmine wandered down the halls, coming up close to the dungeons. Neither girl had said a word to each other since they had left the chapel. Soon, they had reached the green flame lit hallway of the dungeon. The two girls continued to walk in silence until they reached the dungeon containing the other five princesses; Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Belle and Alice.

West unlocked the cell door and moved to let Jasmine inside. The Arabian princess looked sadly between West and the other princesses before walking into the cell. The thief locked the cell door and turned to walk away, before Jasmine jumped up and grasped the bars.

"Why are you both working for such horrible people?" Jasmine demanded. "Don't you understand, this isn't the right way!"

"I know. But you just have to trust me!" West nearly begged. "I'm not who you think I am. And neither is Riku, I know it. I just know there's still good in him, he's just misguided!"

"You know what you're doing?" Cinderella asked. West nodded her head.

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you anything else. Not now." West said. "I won't let them hurt you. You just have to believe in me, please. And don't give Riku such a hard time." The six princesses nodded before West gave her return nod before darting back up the hall.

"What do you suppose is going on?" Snow White asked, watching West leave. "Why is she staying with Maleficent and working behind her back?"

"I'm not sure, but right now, she's our best option of ever getting out of here." Belle said. "We'll have to trust her."

"But, what about Riku?" Aurora asked. "What's going to happen to him?"

"That witch is manipulating him!" Alice exclaimed. "All he wants is his friend back. Now, she's tempting him with the darkness!" Jasmine continued to look between the bars, before she sighed as she sat down beside Cinderella.

"West... whatever it is you're planning, please be careful." The princess of Agrabah sighed, turning to the comfort of her fellow imprisoned princesses.

Meanwhile, West had made it up to the castle's front hall. She had remained silent all the way up here. Neither she or Mushu had said a word for a long time before West was about to open the front doors and the dragon climbed on her shoulder again.

"What was that all about? What are you hiding?" Mushu asked while West paused and looked into the dragon's eyes.

"I can't talk to anyone here about that right now, Mushu. But I promise, once this is all over I'll tell you guys everything." West told him, then pushed opened the large double doors, breathing in the warm air and looking out into the pipe work and brick balconies. However, what West really noticed was a giant red-painted pirate ship floating beside the balcony with a wooden ramp leading up to the deck.

Mushu silently slipped into West's hoodie as the thief climbed up the ramp. Once she had made it up to the deck, West's eyes widened at the sight of both pirates and heartless moving along the floor, working to set sail. Standing across the ship, casually leaning over the edge was Riku.

"Hey! Riku!" She called as she waved to him. The silver-haired boy turned around, took one look at the perky thief, rolled his eyes then looked back over the edge. West pouted at Riku's reaction and began to march over to him, clumsilly bumping into and tripping over multiple annoyed pirates and heartless as she did.

When she came close to where Riku stood, she tripped over a shadow heartless, slid across where another pirate was swabbing the deck and slammed against Riku, causing them both to fall to the floor. Riku glared at her in annoyance before dusting himself off and making his way to his feet.

"Why do you have to be such a clutz?!" Riku groaned. West only smiled, climbing back to her own feet.

"Just part of my charm, I guess!" West giggled.

"CAST OFF YEH SCURVY DOGS!" Captain Hook's voice roared through the ship as it began to lift off and fly into Hollow Bastion's sky before leaving the world completely, the ship's crew scrambling around to make sure everything was in shape.

The two teenagers stood in silence for a moment before West released a bored sigh, which was soon replaced by her perky grin. She jumped up to sit at the edge of the ship, cupping her face in her hands and crossing her legs. Riku remained quiet, leaning over the edge and staring up at the passing worlds.

"So, Riku. What's your story?" West asked, while Riku glared at her.

"Sorry. I don't do back stories." Riku grumbled.

"Uh-oh. Look's like you're off fighting the happies again!" West giggled, stepping behind him, poking the corners of his mouth with her fingers and pulling them up, forcing Riku into a smile. Clearly not amused, Riku swatted her hands away.

"Cut that out!" Riku snapped while West only giggled.

"Seriously though, I want to get to know you better. Come on, I still don't know where you came from!" She said, "You're not going to make me use the cute face again, are you?" Riku grumbled in annoyance and pinched the bridge of his nose, remembering the last time she had used her cute face.

"Fine." Riku sighed in defeat. "I lived on the Destiny Islands my entire life. It was boring and uneventful. My parents got a divorce when I was five and act like I'm still some naive little kid. I wanted to get off that rock, so I convinced my friends to help me build a raft to find another world. Any world would have been better than the world I spent my life on. The islands fell to darkness the night before we were supposed to leave..."

_As the sun set, Riku sat on his bed in his bedroom at his dad's house. Only one more night at the stupid islands before he'll say goodbye to them forever. One more night to tolerate his parents bickering over him and other pointless stuff. He couldn't wait to get off the islands. There was a knock at his bedroom door and his father, Haru walked in. He was a man in his early forties with short silver hair dressed in a plain dark green t-shirt, ripped jeans and brown sandals._

_"Hey pal. Your mom's here" Haru told him while Riku only nodded, grabbed his backpack and walked out of his room. Sure enough his mother, Asuka was standing at the open door. She was a thin woman with chin-length dark blonde hair, sea green eyes matching her son's. She was dressed in a thin blue blouse, black dress pants and black heels._

_"Hi mom," Riku grumbled._

_"Hi, sweetheart." Asuka said, hugging him tightly, then turned to Haru. "Haru, remember that I'm dropping him off two days early next week to go to my teacher's convention at the other end of the island."_

_"Woah, wait back up! Since when?" Haru demanded. Asuka crossed her arms and glared at her ex-husband._

_"I told you two weeks ago. Were you even listening to me?" _

_"News flash Asuka; we're not married anymore! I don't have to listen to you anymore!"_

_"You do when what I have to say involves our son!"_

_"Did it ever occur to you that maybe I have stuff going on? That I have work to do?"_

_"Playing guitar in your garage is NOT a real job! You are such a child!"_

_"Hey! I'm gonna be a legend someday-"_

_"STOP!" Riku shouted, unable to take anymore. "I'm sick of this! I'm sick of both of you! Treating me like I'm not even here! I'm tired of these stupid islands! Once I get off this rock I hope you both go and die alone so someone else can deal with you!" Both his parents stared at him, wide-eyed and speechless._

_"Riku Caleb Kimura!" Asuka gasped. "What's gotten into you!"_

_"Forget it! I'm done! I can't listen to either of you anymore!" Without a second to react, Riku ran as fast as his legs could carry him out of the house, dumping his backpack on the sidewalk. Riku didn't stop running until he reached the beach, pausing for only seconds to catch his breath. Then, after finding his small wooden boat and untying it, made his way to the play island where they had kept the raft._

_Once he had reached the island, Riku slumped down into the warm sand and watched as the sun set._

_"If I could go now, I would." Riku whispered to himself."I just want to get out of this place!" Just as dark fell, out of the corner of his eye, Riku saw a hooded figure walk along the sand-coated beach. Curiosity getting the better of him, Riku followed the figure silently down the beach and across the bridge to the mini island._

_"This world has been connected." The figure spoke as though he knew Riku was right behind him. "Tied to the darkness, soon to be completely eclipsed."_

_"What are you talking about?" Riku demanded as the figure turned to face him._

_"You wish to leave this prison, do you not?" He asked. "I can make that happen. I can take you away from the life you lead here. I need only know where the door is." He raised his hand out to Riku as a gesture of trust._

The door?_ Riku thought. _There was a door in the secret place...

_"Riku!" A voice snapped the silver-head out of his thoughts. "Your parents are worried about you!" Riku turned around, finding Kairi running towards him, but stopping in her tracks at the sight of the hooded man. "Riku? What's going on?" She asked fearfully. Riku ignored her and pointed to the cave entrance to the secret place._

_"It's in there." Riku stated. The figure only nodded and strode toward the cave. Kairi turned her attention away from Riku and glared at the stranger._

_"Hey!" she called. "What do you think you're doing?!" Wasting no time, Kairi ran into the cave just as dark storm clouds and lightning circled the previously clear sky. Riku couldn't help but smirk, finally he could say goodbye to the islands! The storm clouds continued to grow and cover the sky, the lightning flashed more violently. Riku only watched, waiting for the chance to leave._

_"Where's Kairi?! I thought she was with you!" Riku heard a voice behind him and Riku knew it was Sora._

_"The door has opened..." Riku whispered._

_"What?" Sora asked, Riku turning to face him._

_"The door has opened, Sora! Now we can go to the outside world!"_

_"What are you talking about? We've gotta find Kairi!"_

_"Kairi's coming with us!" Riku exclaimed, looking up at the sky again. "Once we step through, we might not be able __to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning __back. But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us! I'm __not afraid of the darkness!" The silver-head held out his hand for his friend to take, but Sora only stared at him._

_"Riku..." At that moment, a puddle of darkness appeared under Riku's feet, he unable to move. Sora reached out towards him, but stumbled into the puddle. Riku was unable to move as ribbons of darkness wrapped around his and Sora's bodies, the latter struggling hard against it to get to his friend. Soon enough, Riku's vision was darkened by the darkness wrapping around the rest of his body, covering his face and pulling him down._

_Sometime later, his eyes opened again. He found himself lying in the middle of a sand-covered floating piece of land, the wind howling around him. Riku slowly pushed himself up to his feet and walked to the middle of the platform. Sensing another presence behind him, Riku turned around again to find the same cloaked figure from before standing there. The figure said nothing as he raised his hands allowing a dark portal to appear behind him. Riku said nothing in response, walking backwards into the portal._

**PrismRain13: Hope you like the interpretation I did of Riku's parents!**

**Captain Hook: Now review before I make you walk the plank! *crocodile appears* SMEE! SAVE ME! SMEE!**

**PrismRain13: *pets crocodile* good boy :)**


	20. A Whale Of A Tale

**PrismRain13: Well it didn't take me that long to figure out what I was planning for this chapter! I feel accomplished!**

**Pinnochio: Does this mean I get to be in the story now?**

**PrismRain13: Why don't you read the chapter and find out? **

**Pinnochio: *excited* Okay! Will you read it to me?**

**PrismRain13: sure, not like I'm doing anything. I still own nothing other than West, my other OCs, West's backstory and Riku's story! KH belongs to Disney/Square Enix and Luke belongs to Mysterygirl7Freak. **

**_Chapter 20: A Whale Of A Tale_**

"So you watched your island disappear?" West asked while Riku nodded. In a way, he was glad he didn't reveal his flashback of his parents and the island's fall to West. There were some things he didn't want to talk about. "I'm sorry."

"What do you have to be sorry for?" Riku grumbled.

"Well, don't you miss your home? Your family?" West asked. Riku rolled his eyes.

"Please, being without my parents is the first moment of peace I've had in years!"

"At least you knew your family..." West whispered quietly, but Riku had heard her.

"What do you mean?" Riku demanded. The thief looked up at him nervously as she began fiddling with one of her pigtails.

"It's not something I like talking about." West replied, turning away from him. She didn't stay that way for long, as Riku grabbed her shoulders and spun her around to face him again.

"Hey. You made me tell my story, now you have to tell me yours!" Realizing that Riku had a point, West sighed in defeat.

"Okay, here it is; Traverse Town was all I ever knew. I showed up there when I was six years old, apparently my world had just been destroyed. I don't remember anything before I showed up at Traverse Town, my mind was completely blank, My memory was gone. I was terrified. I had no idea where I was, where I came from, who I was. I couldn't even remember my own name." West explained. At this statement, Riku's head immediately snapped up.

"You couldn't remember your name? Then, where did 'West' come from?" Riku asked while West rolled her eyes.

"I was a six-year-old kid who couldn't remember her name! I needed something to call myself so I just used the first name I could think of. 'West' just kinda seemed to stick." She stated. "Anyway, Leon found me and saved me from some heartless and took me in. Over time more kids started loosing their homes, we all bonded. But I would be lying if i said I wasn't jealous of them for keeping their memories. Even today I can't remember anything about my past, who I was, my family, I hate it! To top it off, almost every night I keep getting nightmares!"

"Is that why you agreed to come here?" Riku questioned, growing interested. "Because of your memory?" All West did was nod sadly.

"I always wanted to know who I was, everything! I never thought I'd get another chance like this, so I took it. Maleficent told me that if I came with her, she'd find out what my past was." West replied just as Mushu climbed out of her hoodie and on to her shoulder.

"Have you ever tried guessing your name?" The dragon asked. "Can't be that hard, right? What about Sophie? Brittany? Emma? Lauren? Kayla? Olivia? Am I getting warmer?"

"Mushu, I didn't know what my name was then, why would I know it now?" West giggled. At that moment, the ship was jolted to the side causing everyone to stumble down to the deck. West released a girly shriek as she clumsilly stumbled on top of Riku just as Mushu climbed back into West's hoodie. The ship tilted back to its original position as one of the pirates managed to pull himself back up and look over the edge.

"BEAST OFF THE STARPORT BOW!" The pirate yelled. West and Riku jumped up their feet and ran to join the pirate and looked over the edge. Their eyes widened in surprise at the sight of a giant monstrous-size blue whale emerge from underneath the ship.

"A whale?" Riku asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Aye. It be Monstro." Captain Hook stated standing behind the teens. "A whale of a whale. They say it so ferice the beast swallows ships whole."

"Then, shouldn't we be avoiding it?" West asked.

"Nay, lass. My ship is too big for the beast to swallow. The beast feeds on smaller ships; doesn't like to chew." Hook replied. All Riku could do was stare at the whale, until something caught his eye; a blocky orange space ship, tiny in comparison to the giant Monstro.

Riku leaned over the edge and squinted to get a better look and his eyes widened at what he saw. They were small, but inside the ship he could make out Sora, the duck and the dog. It looked like they were trying to turn around, before Monstro spotted them. The whale opened its enormous jaws, swimming closer to the ship, before swallowing it whole. Monstro began to swim under the ship again before Riku ran up to the wheel and sharply turned the ship around, causing everyone to stumble and fall again.

"Aye! What do ya think you're doing lad?!" Hook demanded. Riku said nothing as he drove the ship closer to Monstro. Soon, the ship was docked on the whale's back, surprisingly, Monstro didn't see, to notice. Riku wasted no time in running back down to the deck and tying a long rope around the mast, the other end around his waste.

"I'm going in the whale!" The islander stated, West and the pirates staring at him in shock. "I saw it swallow Sora, he was in that ship. Once I tell him about Kairi, he'll come crawling back and ditch the two idiots. We'll find a way to get her heart back together!"

"This is a lost cause lad!" Hook shook his head. "The boy won't listen to yeh. He left you once in Traverse Town, why won't he do it again?"

"No! I know Sora!" Riku argued. "Kairi's one thing he'll never say no to."

"So you're going to get eaten by a whale?" West asked. "Dang-it! And I thought Lulu's cooking was gross!"

"You said so yourself," Riku said to Hook, "He doesn't like to chew. So, based on that point alone I'll be fine." Then, Riku climbed up to the side of the ship and jumped off without another word, landing feet first on Monstro's slippery back. He walked carefully up to the head. Once he was at the edge, Riku jumped down in front of the whale's teeth. Monstro seemed to be perfectly unaware of Riku's presence, but the rope Riku was using as a lifeline was tickling his nose. The whale sniffed and opened his mouth to inhale. It was enough to suck Riku in. The silver-head wasted no time in diving in to the whale's mouth just as Monstro closed his mouth and Riku's lifeline was cut by the teeth and he fell on the slimy, slippery surface of the tongue.

West, meanwhile was still on the ship having just watched Riku jump in front of Monstro. The theif puffed out her cheeks in annoyance before rushing to the mast, ignoring the pirates and heartless around her. Mushu poked his head out of her hoodie to see what she was doing and found her tying another long rope to the mast.

"We're going after him, aren't we?" The dragon asked as West tied the other end of the rope around her waist.

"What was your first clue?" The theif asked with her perky smile. Mushu only shrugged and climbed back into her hoodie. West jumped up to the edge of the ship, but unfortunately, Hook noticed her.

"What do yeh think you're doing, lass?!" Hook exclaimed, marching over to her.

"Following Riku." Replied West casually. "Catch ya later!" The theif waved, jumping down from the ship and landing on her rear. West slowly emerged to her feet and tried walking, but slipped on the slippery surface and slid all the way to the edge of Mostros's blowhole. West emerged to her feet, a nervous laugh escaping her lips, glancing into Monstro's blowhole.

Back on the ship, Captain Hook watched her as he drew his sword. Inching towards her lifeline.

"Have it your way lass. You want to go after the fool, then go after him!" In one swift movement, her lifeline was cut from the mast. West however, remained oblivious. As West still glanced in the blowhole, she slipped again. Growing desperate West waved her arms around frantically until she finally lost her balance, falling head-first into the blowhole.

~*KH*~

Back at Hollow Bastion, Maleficent, Hades, Ursula and Oogie Boogie were standing around the stone table, watching the events that had just passed on Hook's ship.

"Well, that was a little unexpected." Ursula stated. "This may prove to be a problem Maleficent."

"Yeah! Poor little pigtails might get digested!" Oogie laughed, obviously showing no concern for West.

"I was referring to the fact that Riku will come into contact with the Keyblade wielder." Ursula retorted while Oogie shot up his arms in defense.

"Sure, whatever ya say doll-face!" Oogie stated wrapping his arm around Ursula's shoulders in almost a flirtatious gesture. Ursula blushed in response, scratching Oogie's chin with one of her tentacles.

"Eew! Gross! Monster-love!" Hades groaned. "Would you two just get a room?!"

"Says the god who flirted with me nonstop." Maleficent smirked. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a prisoner I must attend a visit to." All three villains stared at her, knowing who she meant.

"Why do you still keep him around? Why not just kill him and be done with it?" Ursula demanded.

"She is right, he did betray us by trying to set the princesses free!" Hades agreed.

"You are forgetting that there are worse fates than death." Maleficent smirked. "Luke is a traitor and I want the worst punishment imaginable upon him." The witch said nothing more as she turned and strode out of the room. The witch walked in silence down the hallways until she came to the dungeon. Ignoring the princesses and kept walking until she was out of sight of them and standing in front of a stone wall with the heartless symbol on it made of various puzzle-piece buttons. Maleficent quickly typed in a complicated code before the wall opened, revealing another dungeon area.

Out of all the cells, only one was occupied. A young man who appeared to be around seventeen with wavy dirty blond hair, dark indigo eyes and dressed in fingerless gloves, a black sleeveless shirt, blue jeans, grey boots, a wrist band, and a short-sleeved navy jacket. Somehow sensing the presence of the witch, the young man looked up through the iron bars of the cells, glaring at the witch.

"And how are we feeling today, Luke?" Maleficent smirked. "How does it feel to be alone, knowing that you will never see your family again?"

"That's where you're wrong." Luke snarled, standing up and grasping the bars of his prison. "I'm going to get out of here and make sure you never get away with this!"

"Oh no dear. This is your punishment for betraying me after everything I've done for you." The witch said. "You will stay here to rot with no knowledge of the outside world except for everything I choose to tell you. And when the time comes, I will drag you out of this cell, only to take you to be brutally tortured until I have you literally begging for death. You will stay alive, just long enough to witness my power over all the worlds."

"Hate to disappoint you, but that's never going to happen! I'll stay alive long enough to find my family and make sure you pay for everything you put so many people through!"

"We shall see, dear Luke. Perhaps my new apprentice will not disappoint me like you have." Luke's expression turned to one of shock for a brief moment, before raising an eyebrow.

"Really, Maleficent? You've replaced me already? I'm hurt." Luke said sarcastically.

"Oh, you'll know what true pain is soon enough, my dear." Maleficent stated. "You shall see." And on that final note, Maleficent turned and exited the secret dungeon, slamming the door behind her and leaving Luke in complete isolation once again.

~*KH*~

Riku pushed himself up to his feet, wincing in disgust at the sliminess the inside of Monstro's mouth had to offer. It was then that he noticed his broken lifeline. Riku grumbled in annoyance before untying the rope from around his waist and throwing it down, then pausing to look at the scenery. Monstro's mouth consisted of discarded piles of wood stacked at both various heights or just lying around. The entire space smelled of rotting fish and something else that reminded him of the mystery meat back at the island school's cafeteria.

Only one object wasn't destroyed, and it looked like it hadn't been there too long; a small wooden ship. What Riku noticed was Sora, he was talking to an old man who looked kind-hearted but tired and relieved. Standing beside the old man was a wooden puppet. There was a wooden puppet at the old man's feet, standing and moving all by itself. Riku stared at the puppet for a moment, wondering how it was possible. The duck and dog, Donald and Goofy, were standing beside his old friend.

Riku shook his head, trying to focus at the task at hand. He looked ahead and found a tunnel leading deeper into the whale, without even thinking about it, Riku walked in. He found himself standing in some kind of chamber with smooth, slimy, splotchy and colorful surfaces. Riku released a sigh, before jumping up on a platform of the same material and leaned up against an entrance to another chamber, trying to think. However, his thoughts were soon interrupted.

"Hi mister!" A small excited voice spoke. Riku turned around to find the puppet from before waving at him. "Did Monstro swallow you too? He's a mean whale."

"Yeah. Sure, let's go with that." Riku grumbled and looked away still not too sure what to make of the puppet. His thoughts were soon interrupted again by someone pulling at his pant leg. He looked down to find the puppet looking up at him with big, brown eyes.

"Do you wanna play hide-and-seek with me?" The puppet asked like an innocent child. "Sora, Donald, Goofy and Jiminy are too busy talking with Papa to play."

"I just have one question." Riku said. "How can you move? And talk? I know that's not normal for puppets."

"I'm not gonna be a puppet forever! Someday I'm gonna be a real boy!" the puppet said excitedly. "The blue fairy came and said so! She gave me my very own heart, now all I have to do is be good and listen to my conscience!" At the mention of his heart, Riku's head instantly perked up as he smirked down at the puppet. Maybe, just maybe This little puppet could be the key to helping Kairi.

His thoughts were soon again interrupted by the sound of Sora calling out for someone. The puppet looked into the direction the voice was coming from, then back up at Riku.

"Sorry, mister. I have to go now, Sora's calling me." The puppet turned to leave back the way he came, before Riku grabbed his arm.

"You know what, maybe we can play hide-and-seek. From Sora." Riku smirked. the puppet smiled up at him, before looking back towards Sora, Donald and Goofy who were walking towards them.

"What are you doing? Come on, let's go back." Riku heard Sora's voice say.

"You know, Geppetto's awfully worried about you." Goofy added.

"Pinocchio, stop fooling around! This is no time for games!" Sora exclaimed as he turned to go back. Riku chose that moment to make himself known.

"But, Sora, I thought you liked games. Or are you too cool to play them now that you have the Keyblade?" The silver-head smirked. Sora's mouth gaped open at the sight of his childhood friend.

"Riku! Wh-What are you doing here?" Sora stammered.

"Just playing with Pinocchio."

"You know what I mean! What about Kairi? Did you find her?"

"Maybe." Riku shrugged, knowing Sora could never say no to Kairi. "Catch us and maybe I'll tell you what I know." Riku then grabbed Pinnochio's arm again, dragging him further into the whale and laughing as Sora stood there in shock and silence.

**Pinnochio: cool chapter! You need to write more!**

**PrismRain13: yeah, but I need to work on my other stories too. BTW; Luke is an OC from Mystrygirl7freak, he is in no way related to the hot Star Wars character by the same name.**

**Pinnochio: you like Luke Skywalker?**

**PrismRain13: yeah! Why wouldn't I?! Can any of you guess West's real name? Thanks for reading and leave a review! Nasira; thanks for the support! I am planning to continue! And Hook's busy running from the crocodile!**


	21. Childhood Innocence

**PrismRain13: Welcome back! And now it's time for another chapter!**

**Jiminy: sorry for the wait, but we hope you like this chapter!**

**PrismRain13: I still own nothing! Enjoy!**

**Jiminy: see if you can catch the _Tangled_ reference!**

**_Chapter 21: Childhood Innocence_**

Riku dragged Pinnochio through the chambers of Monsto's stomach. The puppet stumbled and tripped, Riku moving too fast for him to keep up.

"This should be far enough away; give Sora and his idiot friends some time to catch up." The silver-head said as he and Pinnochio stopped, reaching the fourth chamber. Riku grumbled in annoyance, letting go of Pinnochio's hand and crossing his arms. Pinnochio looked up at the silver-haired boy and couldn't help but notice the tension between him and Sora. Something must have happened to make Riku so grumpy.

"Hey Riku." Pinnochio asked, pulling on his pant leg as the teenager glared down at him. "You okay? You look sad. Wanna talk about it?"

"I'm fine." Riku snapped.

"You know, whenever I got something on my mind it always makes me feel better to talk to Jiminy."

"Jiminy? Who's Jiminy?" Riku asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh! He's my conscience! He teaches me all kinds of important stuff like what's right and wrong!" Pinnochio told him excitedly. "Hey, maybe that's what you need. Someone to show you the way!" At that moment a corridor of darkness opened in front of both of them and Maleficent stepped out, a sinister look on her face.

"A conscience?" the witch laughed. "Why in the world would Riku need something like that?" All Pinnochio could do was stare at the intimidating form of Maleficent.

"Pinnochio, why don't you go on ahead? I can take it from here." Riku said. Pinnochio nodded as he slowly backed away right around a corner.

"Well, it appears you've made yourself a new friend. How charming." Maleficent said with a sickly smile.

"Is there a reason why you came here or am I just lucky?"

"There is no reason to be rude dear boy, I simply came to ask if you had seen West?"

"She's still on Hook's ship."

"Not so, Riku. Hook saw her attempt to follow you but fell down the whale's blowhole when her lifeline snapped." At the witch's statement, Riku instantly turned around to face her.

"Is she okay?" Riku asked.

"That is what I was hoping you'd know. Just please see if you can find her. We are all so worried about her." Maleficent replied.

"Right. I'll keep an eye out." Nodded Riku. He turned away from the woman and began walking towards the direction Pinnochio had left.

"Why do you still care about that boy?" Maleficent questioned, Riku turning around to face her again. "He has all but deserted you for the Keyblade and his new companions, after all."

"I don't care about him. I was just messing with him a little." The silver-haired boy replied.

"Oh, really? Of course you were." Smirked Maleficent. "Beware the darkness in your heart. The Heartless prey upon it." A corridor of darkness opened in front of her as Maleficent strode in.

"Mind your own business!" Riku called out to her before the witch vanished from his sight.

~*KH*~

_She was young. Alone and unsure. A six-year-old girl lay on the gravelled ground of one of Traverse Town's alleyways. Her overall-like green dress and yellow t-shirt were ripped and dirty in various places. Two brown pigtails peeked out from under a yellow bandanna warped around her tiny head and freckles danced across her face. The little girl slowly pushed herself up, looking around the unfamiliar place, fear gripping at her heart. Yellow rubber boots squeaked as she walked and shivered in the cold breeze._

Where am I?_ The little girl thought. _Who am I?_ The girl kept walking until she made it out of the alley. She came out into the first district, shivering and looking around in fear. When suddenly, out of the stone ground emerged an army of shadow heartless, all staring at her hungrily through their beady glowing yellow eyes._

_Terrified out of her mind, the little girl bolted into a run up the steps, the heartless wasting no time in sprinting after her. The monsters were quickly gaining on her. Just as she turned to look back, she tripped and fell on one of the steps, ripping her dress and skinning her knees._

_One heartless jumped up towards her as she released a blood-curdling scream. However, before the small creature had any time to consume her heart, it was destroyed by a quick, deadly swipe from a blade crossed over with a sword and a gun. She looked up to find her saviour was a young man around seventeen years with untamed brown hair, stormy eyes, a leather jacket and an old scar directly across his face. Quickly the little girl stumbled to her feet and hid behind the young man, cowering in fear._

_The man disposed of the remaining heartless easily, slicing through them as though they were nothing. When the heartless were gone, the young man dismissed his weapon and looked down at the little girl clutching his leg as though it was the only thing keeping her safe, sobbing uncontrollably._

_"Hey, it's okay. They're gone now." The young man said soothingly, prying her off his leg and pulling her into a protective embrace. "My name's Leon. What's your name?"_

_"I... can't remember..." The little girl sobbed._

_"Okay, where did you come from?" Leon asked._

_"I can't remember that either... I... can't remember... anything..." Cried the little girl. Leon rubbed her back soothingly, picking her up in his muscular arms._

_"Hey. Don't worry, I'll take care of you. But I'll still need something to call you. Anything. Anything that feels right." The little girl thought as hard as she could, trying to get any kind of name out of her nonexistent memory. She shut her eyes, pushing into the black parts of her mind, until she came up with one word, feeling like it was somehow part of her. It didn't feel like a name, but it would have to do._

_"West." She suddenly said, Leon raising an eyebrow at her. "Call me West." said smiled for the first time, and encouraging a small, barely noticeable smile out of Leon as well._

_"West? Okay then." Leon nodded. "Well West if you need a place to stay, I doubt Aerith would mind us taking you in." Before Leon knew it, West had tightly embraced his neck and shoulders with her short arms. "I'll take that as a 'yes'." Leon shifted uncomfortably, but still carried her towards the direction of the small house in the third district. __"I'll protect you, I promise." West barely heard him whisper, but smiled at what he had to say._

West groaned, slowly making her way out of the darkness of unconsciousness and her first memory. The first things she noticed about her surroundings were the sliminess of the surface she was lying on, the rotting, revolting smell and the feeling of a tiny clawed finger poking her head.

"Hello! Amy! Bridget! Wake up Lindsey!" A voice called into her ear. West cracked open her eyes and saw Mushu staring down at her, poking her head.

"Mushu, what did you just call me?" West yawned, glaring at the dragon.

"What? Can't help it if I'm curious about your real name!" Mushu laughed, climbing on to her shoulder as West slowly pushed herself up to her feet. The thief glanced around her surroundings and found herself and Mushu to be in a chamber she had to assume were Monstro's lungs as they were shaped like lungs. The walls were lined with red and blue veins and the floor was a slimy slippery pink substance. The room was in constant vibration and the walls beware pulsing in and out due to the whale's breathing.

"Lungs." West groaned, crossing her arms. "Great. We had to end up in the one part of the whale's body that never sits still."

"How would you know?" Mushu asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Leon, Kyra and the rest of the resistance always told me about different worlds they've been too. Monstro was one I heard about a lot." West replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Why do we have to be here? It smells! Can't we just go back to the castle?!" A whiny voice rang though a hallway leading to a next-door chamber.

"Number IX that's enough! We're here on a mission!" A strict voice snapped back. West and Mushu exchanged looks of confusion before West creeped up to the voices. The thief poked her head around the corner to find three tall figures in black coats. The shortest of the group had dirty blond hair done in a mullet. The other two looked quite a bit older, one with long blond hair and the other with grey and black hair tied in a long ponytail with an eyepatch covering one eye and several scars on his face.

"Seriously Demyx, can you go one minute without complaining?" The man with the eye-patch groaned.

"Oh man! Not them!" Mushu whispered.

"What? Do you know them?" West asked.

"It's that organization! Me and Riku met some of them on my world. They're bad news! Let's just back away slowly..." Mushu was prepared to leave, but West hadn't moved. She just stood there, staring at the three organization members.

"What are they doing here?" West wondered out loud.

"I don't know but can we please just get out of here?!" Mushu begged before West shushed him, leaning in to listen to the organization's conversation. "Okay, I'm just gonna hide in your hoodie where it's, you know safe." the dragon said, climbing into West's hoodie while West only gave a short nod and continued to watch the three organization members.

"Though, water-boy does have a point, why'd the superior pick here?" The eye-patch man asked.

"Xigbar, we are here to investigate the whale's heart. Have you taken it upon yourself to behave like Axel and Demyx here and remain oblivious to what the superior has to say?"

"As if Vexen!" Xigbar huffed. "It was an honest question!" It was then that West realized were they were; Monstro's heart. The room was round, the walls were smooth and coloured purple and blue. And in the centre of the room was the heart, beating heavily and being held in place by blue and purple veins attached to the floor and ceiling.

"Why's the boss so interested in a whale's heart anyway?" Demyx asked, leaning in to examine the heart.

"Lord Xemnas believes that if we were to set the Keybearer against a strong enough heartless, then we will be closer to achieving our goal." Vexen explained. "In simpler terms, we start making heartless, the bigger the threat and the more hearts will be sent to Kingdom Hearts."

"But won't the darkness take us too?" Demyx asked before Xigbar burst into laughter.

"That's why we can make corridors of darkness moron!" He laughed, roughly punching Demyx in the arm, who winced and glared at Xigbar. "We'll be outta here before the whale even starts to fall to darkness."

"Yes. Yet there is the issue with the boy Riku." Vexen said in deep thought. Hearing Riku's name, West released a small gasp before firmly placing her hand over her mouth. Then, slowly and carefully leaning in to listen better.

"Seriously, the boss man still wants him caught?" Xigbar asked.

"How should I know? I don't pay attention!" Demyx responded. Vexen rolled his eyes in response. "Can we just turn the whale into a heartless and grab this Riku kid already so we can get out of here? This place gets smellier by the minute."

"Fine. Don't get all whiny on me!" Xigbar grumbled as he raised his hand. West gasped as it began to radiate with dark energy. It was then the thief realized what they were doing. West had no control as she jumped to her feet and sprinted towards the nobodies.

"NOOO!" West screamed, jumping up behind Xigbar and tackling him to the ground, drawing her knife. Vexen and Demyx could only stare in shock. Xigbar, however wasted no time in grabbing West by the scruff of her shirt and violently throwing her down to the slimy ground. West's body slid until she collided with Monstro's heart.

Xigbar stood up, smirking as he got a good look at his attacker. With a snap of his fingers two dark indigo arrowguns appeared in his hands. Xigbar kneeled down and pointed the end of the arraowgun at her throat and West couldn't help but gulp in fear.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Xigbar smirked dangerously. "Where'd you come from?" West didn't answer, but instead glared at Xigbar. She wasn't prepared to make the same mistake like she had with Mozenrath, she wouldn't show her fear if she could help it.

"It would seem we as an organization are quickly attracting eaves-droppers." Vexen said. "We will have to remedy that."

"Hey! I'm not the one stalking Riku!" West snapped. The three organization members all looked at each other in confusion until Xigbar smirked back at her and pushed his arrowgun closer to West's throat. She couldn't help but release a small whimper.

"So, you know Riku do ya? You his girlfriend, freckles?" Xigbar smirked. The thief snarled in response.

"That's enough, Xigbar." Vexen said before he strode over to where the two were and looked down smugly at West, crossing his arms. "Now then, my dear. The last thing we want is to cause harm to you or Riku. So, here's my deal; we will allow you to go free if you find Riku and convince him to come with us. Our little encounter will remain a secret."

"Yeah, sorry. That's not gonna happen! Why don't you people go stalk someone else for a change" West snarled.

"Come on guys. She's just a kid." Demyx said.

"Yeah, a kid with a big mouth and who's in our way!" Xigbar retorted, glaring back at West and moved his arrowgun up to her forehead. "Ya know, just for that I should give you a scar. Maybe one right across your..."

"How 'bout I give you another one instead?!" A voice exclaimed just as a bolt of lightning hit Xigbar in the back. His grip loosened for one moment, but it was enough for West to wiggle loose and kick him in the chest. Both Vexen and Demyx raised their weapons threateningly before they were attacked from behind. West's eyes widened in surprise at who came to her rescue.

"Kim? Irvine? Lulu?" West asked in shock seeing her three family members fighting against the organization members. "How'd you guys find me?"

"Run! We'll explain later!" Kim exclaimed, ducking away from an attack from Vexen's sheild just as Irvine fired his gun at Demyx. Xigbar glared and raused his arrowguns at Lulu before she raised her moogle plush, sending a blast of fire at him. West nodded once before running back to the tunnel she came from and sprinted as fast as her legs could carry her back to the lungs. A hand reached into the tunnel and pulled her out. Once again, West's eyes widened.

"Lewis?" West asked, looking into the face of the twelve-year-old genius. Lewis didn't reply to her, but pulled her out of the tunnel and back into the lungs where she was instantly greeted by an attack-hug from Zell and T.J.

"You're okay!" T.J. exclaimed. "When we told everyone else you left -"

"Which by the way is NOT my fault! Leon cornered us and T.J. spilled!" Zell interrupted while TJ glared at him.

"Leon told us about the organization and Maleficent, so we got worried." Lewis finished.

"Awwww I feel so special!" West beamed, hugging Zell and T.J. back. At that moment, Kim, Lulu and Irvine climbed out of the tunnel, followed by the sound of three angry organization members. However, before they could get through the tunnel, Kim pulled out what looked to be a wad of gum and threw it at the organization members. Upon impact the gum exploded and covered all three members in the sticky substance just as the tunnel closed its entrance and another tunnel opened up at the other end of the lungs.

"That gum won't hold them for long, and with their corridors it won't take them long to get to another area. Come on, we gotta go." Kim exclaimed, grabbing West's wrist and pulling her down towards the tunnel with everyone else running close beside them. They all slid down the newly-opened tunnel and ended up in another small chamber with several open tunnels leading in various unknown directions.

Just as Lewis slid down the tunnel, bringing up the rear of the group the tunnel closed. Finally feeling a sense of relief, the group collapsed onto the slimy ground, and all releasing equal sighs.

"Wow, those organization guys were tough!" Irvine sighed. "Now I know why Leon was worried."

"One thing doesn't make sense though." Kim realized. "Didn't you notice they just let the gum hit them? They weren't even trying against us? Why would they do that? Why would they let us win?"

Mushu finally felt it was safe to come out and climbed on to West's shoulder.

"See? I told you those guys were bad news! But did you listen to me? Nooooo." Mushu scolded, but his eyes grew in surprise at the sight of the six kids around him and West. Who all looked equally shocked at the sight of the talking dragon. "Uhhh... Hi?" Mushu laughed nervously.

"Wow! A dragon?! Cool!" Zell exclaimed, rushing over to West's side to get a closer look at Mushu.

"Looks like someone's had quite the adventure." Lewis smiled, gazing at Mushu with an equal interest.

"What? Are you jealous Lewis?" West giggled.

"Alright, if we're done with the admiration of West's new pet dragon I think it's time we went home." Lulu said, standing up. "Come on, West."

"Wait, what?" West asked, jumping to her feet and looking at the faces of her family. "No! I can't leave yet! I can't abandon Riku now! I've gone to so many different worlds, met so many different people -"

"West, this is why we came looking for you!" Kim exclaimed. "That boy's dangerous!"

"No he's not!" West exclaimed. "He's sweet, strong, heroic, funny, he protected me, and I... I think he likes me."

**PrismRain13: Ha ha! Left you at a cliffhanger! I feel so evil!**

**Jiminy: being evil is not nice!**

**PrismRain13: it's an expression! Thanks for reading guys! Remember to review!**

**Nasira - sorry, but I don't think I'm going to have Jafar's sister appear :( for one thing I don't want to have too many _Aladdin_ characters, plus I literally know nothing about her (wiki's not helping much). Sorry. I might be able to have her as a secret boss but I still know nothing about her.**


	22. Puppet With A Lost Heart

**Gepetto: oh please, Prism, let Pinnochio be alright!**

**PrismRain13: don't worry, he'll be okay. I'm the author; I won't let anything bad happen! **

**Gepetto: oh thank you! PrismRain13 still claims no ownership over Kingdom Hearts, Disney or Final Fantasy. Only her OCs.**

**PrismRain13: Thank you guys so much for OVER 100 REVIEWS! You guys are the best! Thank you so much for all the support!**

**_Chapter 22: Puppet With A Lost Heart_**

As soon as the words escaped West's mouth, her family stared at her in complete and utter shock. There was complete silence within the chamber until Lulu stepped over towards West.

"Please don't tell me that's what he's done to you!" Lulu demanded. "West, why can't you see he's just using you?!"

"No! Riku's a good person; he'd never do that!" West defended, standing up in front of Lulu.

"What makes you so sure?" Kim demanded. "He's dragged you along in this group of dangerous heartless-controlling people and been nothing but secretive since we met him!"

"I-I just know." West stammered, slowly loosing her confidence.

"You just know? Well that's a perfect excuse!" Lulu exclaimed sarcastically as her voice escalated to a shouting level. "You say he's a good person, but what proof do you have?!"

"I know what I'm doing! Why don't you trust me?" West argued.

"BECAUSE YOU'RE TOO STUPID TO KNOW ANY BETTER!" Shouted the Mage. Lulu's words hit West like a giant pile of bricks as tears began to well up in her eyes and fall down her cheeks. As soon as Lulu realized what she said, she gasped. "West... I..." Lulu reached out towards her family member.

"Get away! Leave me alone!" West sobbed, swatting Lulu's hand away. She covered her eyes and ran out of the chamber, into a newly-formed tunnel.

"West! Wait! Come back!" Kim called as she and the rest of the team jumped to their feet and chased after her to the next chamber, but West was nowhere to be found.

"Nice going, Lulu." Zell grumbled.

"I didn't mean it." Whispered Lulu. "It just all came out so fast."

"So what do we do now, Kim?" Irvine asked. Kim sighed in defeat, before crossing her arms over her chest.

"There's nothing left to do. When West doesn't want to be found, she stays hidden. By the time we track her down she'll already be long gone." Kim replied.

"So we just abandon her here?" TJ demanded, standing in front of the group. "She's part of our family we can't just leave her behind!"

"I'm with TJ on this one." Lewis said, standing beside TJ with his arms crossed. "I already know what it's like to be without a family! I'm not letting this one break up!"

"I say we trust West." Zell stated. "If West says Riku's a good guy, that's good enough for me!" He was greeted by a glare from Lulu, to which he turned away and rubbed the back of his neck in an embarrassed manner.

"Kim," Lulu said, tuning towards the teen hero. "What about the Organization members? They must have broken out of your gum by now and if they find West, who knows what they'll do!"

"She said she knows what she's doing." Was the only reply Kim gave. "We just have to trust her."

"Come on!" Irvine complained. "You know West can't hold up against a boss fight alone! She got creamed by a guard armor last month!"

"Look, I know most of you hate the idea, but even if we do find her, what are we going to do? Kidnap her and drag her back to Traverse down by her hair?" Kim asked. "Right now West hates us."

"Especially Lulu." Irvine pointed out, earning him a glare from said Mage while Kim rolled her eyes before continuing.

"She just needs some space right now. We'll give her a little time, then start looking for her again in two days. If she needs us before then we'll come. Fair?" There was silence between the group for a moment, before everyone except Lulu caved in and nodded. They all silently made their way through another tunnel, until Lulu and Kim were left alone.

"I still don't trust that boy." Lulu stated with her arms crossed.

"None of us do. We all want what's best for her, but we won't be much help unless she cooperates." Kim replied.

"I guess you're right." Lulu sighed as she and Kim followed the rest of their family back to the Gummi ship they used. "If anything happens to West I'll never forgive myself."

~*KH*~

Meanwhile, Riku and Pinnochio were wandering the chambers. Pinnochio ran ahead into another opening leading into another unknown area.

"Riku!" Sora's voice exclaimed. Riku turned around to find Sora, Donald and Goofy standing in front of him. "What's the matter with you? What are you thinking? Don't you realize what you're doing?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing, Sora." Riku huffed. "You only seem interested in running around and showing off that Keyblade these days. Do you even want to save Kairi?"

"I do..." Replied Sora. At that moment a high-pitched scream erupted from the entrance Pinnochio went through. Without even a second thought, the four darted inside to Monstro's bowels. They were stopped dead in their tracks by the sight of Pinnochio trapped inside a giant heartless with long, tentacle-like arms and a cage as is stomach that Pinnochio was in.

_No way!_ Riku thought with a snarl. _Ally of Maleficent's or not; you are not taking my once chance of saving Kairi!_ In a brief flash of darkness, Soul Eater appeared in his hand as Donald and Goofy raised their weapons.

"You up for this?" Riku turned to his childhood friend.

"No problem. Let's do it!" Sora responded, the keyblade appearing in his hands. As Riku huffed in response, the group of four rushed into battle against the heartless. Donald ran behind the Parasite Cage and fired blasts of fire, ice and lightning magic at the heartless. Goofy followed his lead by jumping up into the Parasite Cage's face and smacking it with his shield. Sora used his own variety of attacks, such as magic spells like Donald used and his own set of offensive attacks. Riku jumped up and aggressively began attacking the upper portion of the heartless.

The Parasite cage was proving to be quite a challenge, using it's long tentacle-like arms to smack the group of four in various different directions. Riku was just about to attack the heartless before it's wild arm slammed itself into Riku's chest, sending him spiralling backwards and slamming into the slimy wall. Goofy looked over to where Riku had fallen and a look of genuine concern spread across his face. Reaching into his pocket, Goofy pulled out a potion and tossed it to Riku who grabbed it in his gloved hand.

Riku quickly gulped down the bottle's contents allowing his wounds to heal before jumping back beside Donald. He and the duck barely acknowledged each other before sprinting back into battle with the heartless. Realizing that they were going to need help, Sora ran off to the side, pulling out an unusual yellow-coloured gem out of his pocket and held it close to his heart.

"Courage!" Sora exclaimed as he raised his keyblade into the air and a variety of bright colours and light surrounded him, Donald and Goofy as the animals disappeared. There was a loud roar and the light faded to reveal a golden-furred, red-maned lion standing next to Sora and growling at the Parasite Cage. Riku's eyes widened at the sight of the lion.

"Let's get them Simba!" Sora exclaimed as the lion gave a nod and they both ran back into battle. The sound of Simba's roar snapped Riku out of his trance, the teenager standing up to his feet and rushing towards the heartless, attacking with quick, deadly strikes and ducking out of the way of the arms. Sora followed his lead, attacking from behind while Simba followed him, slamming the Keyblade into the Parasite Cage's back and firing blasts of fire and blizzard magic. Simba however, remained off to the side, growling and staring at the heartless in front of him. He released a powerful roar, knocking the heartless back and dealing a great deal of damage.

Riku continued his pattern of attacks, noticing the Parasite Cage weakening at a fast pace. Just as Sora blasted the heartless's head with a thunder attack, Simba released another, stronger roar, the sound knocking the heartless backward as Simba disappeared into the multi-coloured light and Donald and Goofy returned. Riku knew at that moment, their battle was won, but the Parasite Cage still had yet to be defeated.

The Parasite Cage raised its and spat Pinnochio out of the cage as the puppet fell limply down a round pit newly-created in the floor. The heartless then disappeared into darkness. Riku wasted no time in sprinting towards the pit and jumping down.

Riku found himself falling down back into the mouth and landing feet-first in the middle of a wooden boat. Sitting there, cradling an unconscious Pinnochio close to his heart was an old man with wild white hair and moustache, round glasses and dressed in clothing in a similar fashion to Pinnochio's.

"Oh, Pinnochio, my son. Please wake up! I can't loose you now!" The old man sobbed.

"Excuse me," Riku said as the old man turned to face him with tear-filled eyes. "Did you just call a puppet your son?"

"Why yes." The old man replied, pushing his tears away. "Pinnochio is my son. His heart's as pure as it can be."

_What are you waiting for?!_ His guide's voice demanded inside his head. _This may be your only chance! Kairi needs a heart; if you truly want to help her, you will take one no matter what! It's a puppet! It will have no use for it! _Realizing the voice was right, Riku stepped towards the old man and the puppet, a determined look on his face.

"I'd really hate to interrupt your little reunion - oh wait; I don't!" Riku snarled, Soul Eater appearing in his hands. The old man could only gasp as Riku knocked him to the side causing him to skid across the boat and drop Pinnochio. The silver-haired teenager wasted no time in scooping Pinnochio up in his arms and jumping off the boat. Riku ignored the old man's cries of protest as he climbed the tall piles of wood, heading towards the throat.

Once Riku had reached the top of the tallest wood pile Sora, Donald and Goofy tumbled out of the pit and back on the boat where the old man looked up to Riku.

"Pinocchio! Pinocchio! Please! Give me back my son!" He begged while Riku only smirked, holding the unconscious Pinnochio under his arm. Sora, Donald and Goofy could only stare in shock.

"Sorry, old man. I have some unfinished business with this puppet." Riku retorted.

"He's no puppet! Pinocchio is my little boy!" Protested the old man.

"He is unusual. Not many puppets have hearts. I'm not sure, but maybe he can help someone who's lost theirs." Realized the silver-haired youth.

"Wait a minute. Are you talking about Kairi?" Sora gasped.

"What do you care about her?!" Riku snapped, snarling at Sora as he turned his back to the group of four as he ran down the opening leading to the throat. Riku didn't stop running until he reached the stomach, completely ignoring the heartless crowding the throat. Once he reached the stomach, he threw Pinnochio's limp body down to the ground as Soul Eater appeared in his hands.

"Okay, puppet." Riku snarled. "Say goodbye to your heart; you won't be needing it anymore." But, before Riku could make any move to strike, a voice interrupted him.

"Hey, let Pinocchio go, Riku!" Riku spun around as Soul Eater dissapeared from his hands, seeing Sora, Donald and Goofy standing in the stomach's entrance. It was Sora who had spoken.

"A puppet that's lost its heart to the Heartless..." Riku murmered, glancing at Pinnochio's still form, then turning to Sora. "Maybe it holds the key to helping Kairi. How about it, Sora? Let's join forces to save her. We can do it, together." There was a brief moment when Sora didn't speak, until the Keyblade appeared in his hand and Sora stood in a battle-ready stance.

"What? You'd rather fight me? Over a puppet that has no heart?" Riku demanded.

"Heart or no heart, at least he still has a conscience." Retorted Sora.

"Conscience?"

"You might not hear it, but right now it's loud and clear. And it's telling me you're on the wrong side!"

"Then you leave me no choice." Riku growled just as a green cricket dressed in a suit jumped out of Sora's hood and ran towards Pinnochio.

"Pinocchio! Pinocchio!" The cricket exclaimed at the puppet's side. Pinocchio's eyes just barely cracking open with his head hung limply.

"Jiminy... I'm not gonna make it." Pinnochio moaned weakly until a flash of light surrounded his nose as it grew longer and he snapped his head up smiling. "Oh! I guess I'm okay!"

Jiminy jumped up and down excitedly, relieved to see that Pinnochio was okay. Suddenly, the Parasite Cage jumped down from the ceiling, appearing from midair and dropped to the ground in front of Sora, Donald and Goofy. Riku snarled at Sora; anger and hatred bubbling up inside him; how could he abandon him and Kairi like that? That anger and darkness continued to grow, until a corridor of darkness formed underneath Riku's fingertips disappeared through a corridor of darkness.

**PrismRain13: So I watched the first part of Dragons: Riders of Berk season finale, and here's what I have to say; HOLY FRIKIN CRAP! It was so intense! Mildew how could you betray Hiccup and Toothless like that! Astrid go save your boyfriend! Why do we have to wait a week for the second half?! *cries***

**Gepetto: *inches away slowly* please remember to review.**


	23. Chosen Path

**PrismRain13: Hey! I'm back! Did ya miss me?!**

**Xigbar: as if!**

**PrismRain13: okay I'm going to ignore you. So since graduation's in less than two weeks and I have diploma exams coming up, I'm not sure how often I'm going to be able to update. So if it turns out I leave my stories for a long time that's why.**

**Xigbar: whatever. Prism still claims no ownership over anything she writes about other than her OCs, except for Kyra and Rusty who belong to MysteryGirl7Freak.**

**_Chapter 23: Chosen Path_**

The corridor of darkness opened in a chamber at least a slimy wall away from Sora and the Heartless he was about to fight. Riku stepped out, A feeling of betrayal washing over his heart. As the portal closed, Riku grasped his heart in pain and collapsed to his knees.

"Congratulations. You've grasped the darkness." Riku lifted his head up to find the robed figure standing over him. "I must say, I'm impressed; it takes a great deal of inner darkness to create a corridor. Not bad for your first time without any assistance."

"Wh... at's... Your... Point?!" Wheezed Riku as he struggled to move to his feet, bending down and breathing heavily.

"Your friend has abandoned you. He chose two strangers over you and her." The figure said. "You're alone now. All that can help you is the darkness. It is your only chance to save your dear friend, Kairi. Of course the choice is yours, will you follow the path of darkness?"

Riku weakly lifted his head up, thoughts and memories of Sora and Kairi flooding his mind. Kairi needed him, while Sora... He chose to abandon them; he was a traitor. Fine. If Sora didn't care about Kairi anymore, then that was his problem.

"I... I'll follow the darkness." Riku finally rasped out, yellow colouring his eyes again. "I'm not afraid; I'll embrace it and no one's going to stand in my way!" the figure smirked under his hood, turning his back towards Riku.

"Excellent. I look forward to watching you grow." He said with a slight chuckle before vanishing in a corridor of darkness. Riku raised an eyebrow at his guide's behaviour, but that thought was soon interrupted by the sound of quiet sobs echoing through the chamber. Slowly and cautiously, Riku creeped towards the sound. Soon enough, he found the source; West was curled up against the base of an artery pillar, her legs pulled up to her chest and her face buried in her arms, crying. Mushu sat on her shoulder, patting the top of her head.

"West?" Riku asked, deciding to make his presence known, a feeling of concern suddenly tugging at his heart for her. Both dragon and thief looked up at him, West whipping away her remaining tears with the back of her hand. "Heard you guys fell down the blowhole, you okay?"

"We ran into team junior heartless resistance." Mushu explained. "They don't really like you."

"I tried to explain to them that you weren't bad." West continued as Riku sat down beside her. "They didn't believe me and Lulu... said a pretty hurtful thing..." The tears resurfaced, West hastily whipping them away as they came.

"You... Defended me?" Riku asked, shocked. "Why?" At the sound of his voice, West looked up at him, Mushu climbing on her head.

"Why wouldn't I?" Replied West as though the answer was obvious. "We're friends." The sound of that simple statement was enough for Riku to gasp in shock and stare at her with a confused look in his eyes.

West considered him her friend? They barely knew each other and she was defending him against the harsh words of people who were like family to her. Now that the silver-haired youth thought about it, Sora and Kairi had really been the only true friends he had in his life. With Sora betraying him and Kairi dormant without a heart, Riku just realized how lonely he really was. But, when he was with West and Mushu, something just felt right.

"Yeah. I guess we kinda are." Riku whispered just as West threw her arms around his neck in a semi-awkward hug, yet still felt right. The islander couldn't help but return the hug and smile. "Thanks for the support, friend." Riku said as West released a giggle when the two finally separated but still sitting on the slimy floor.

"Oh, that just makes me wanna hurl!" An unwelcome voice interrupted. Riku, West and Mushu's heads all snapped up to find Xigbar, Vexen and Demyx staring down at them with smug looks on their faces. Both West and Riku jumped up to their feet, their eyes never leaving the three organization members. "Thanks for leading us to our target, freckles." Xigbar smirked. West glared at the man, but still, as she dug her nails into Riku's arm with her tight hold he could feel her shaking with fear.

"What do you people even want from me?!" Riku demanded, stepping protectively in front of West and Mushu.

"Hey, why are we chasing him, anyway? Superior never said why." Demyx asked.

"Silence!" Vexen snapped at him. "You will not disrespect our leader!" Xigbar rolled his eyes, then his attention shifted back to the teenagers and dragon in front of him.

"Yeah, that info's for senior members only." Xigbar said just as his two arrow guns appeared in his hands, pointing them threateningly at his target. "So, kid, we can do this the easy way or the hard way; your choice. Keep in mind who's in charge here."

Riku glared at Xigbar and raised his hand, Soul Eater appearing in his hand in a burst of darkness. "Yeah, right! Like I'm going anywhere." At that moment, Mushu and West stepped out beside him, West pulling out her knife and pointing it at the organization members.

"You're going down losers!" West exclaimed, nodding towards her two teammates.

"Very well then," Vexen laughed, he reached out his hand to summon his shield when Xigbar raised his hand holding one arrow gun, signalling Vexen to stop.

"They're mine!" Xigbar smirked. "Tell the boss man to get a cell ready."

"Don't need to tell me twice Xig!" Demyx exclaimed, vanishing though a corridor of darkness. Vexen released an evil laugh before following Demyx through his own corridor.

Xigbar's smirk grew, West and Riku stood in their battle-ready stances. "Finally! A chance to blow off some steam!" and with that, he fired his arrowguns at the two teens who just barely just jumped out of the way.

West somersaulted behind their attacker and slashed across his back after stealing a potion from him. Xigbar barely flinched but still spun around and fired at the thief. An arrow scraped her shoulder just as West tried to move out of the way.

Mushu climbed on to her head, inhaled deeply and began firing fireballs at Xigbar. Who just about dodged every attack. At the last second, Xigbar turned around to find Riku rushing towards him with Soul Eater raised. Xigbar brought both his arrow guns in front of him, blocking the attack from the silver-haired youth. Both pushed their weapons against each other until Mushu hit Xigbar in the back with another fireball. Causing Xigbar to loose focus and allowing Riku to give a clean swipe, sending his opponent tumbling backwards.

The nobody snarled at his opponents before teleporting away and reappearing on a high ledge in the chamber, almost reaching the ceiling. His arrow guns gave a small click, before the deadly, purple-coloured arrows came raining down on the two teenagers and the dragon. All three of them were frantically jumping, running and rolling around the space in order to dodge Xigbar's wrath.

One arrow hit Mushu directly in the chest with enough force to send the dragon flying off West's head and smack up against the slimy wall, knocking him unconscious.

"Mushu!" Exclaimed West, rushing towards his fallen form and gently scooping the tiny dragon up in her arms. She grasped one of her potions, pouring the green liquid down Mushu's throat. His injuries healed, but it wasn't enough to wake him up. Quickly and gently, the thief tucked Mushu away in the sturdy holster underneath her hoodie, where she knew he'd be safe, before rushing back to Riku's side with her knife raised.

A split second later, Xigbar reappeared in front of them and fired at West. Riku didn't even think about it as he rushed towards her, enveloped her in his arms and pulled her towards him as they both tumbled down to the ground, out of range of the upcoming arrows.

Time seemed to stand still as both teenagers lay on the ground and stared into each other's eyes. Riku gazed down at the brown-haired girl he held protectively underneath him; she had protected him, and now he was protecting her. It was funny how these things worked. Xigbar fired more arrows at them just as the two teenagers jumped to their feet.

"Ready for this?!" West exclaimed, raising a fist.

"Bring it!" Riku added. West rushed towards Xigbar and jumped up towards the ceiling. Riku smacked him in the chest with Soul Eater, knocking up towards West who stabbed and slashed at him. Both West and Xigbar fell back down to the ground and Riku slashed at him on last time, sending him colliding into the wall. And West clumsily landed next to Riku.(1)

Xigbar pushed himself up against the wall of the chamber, glaring at his two opponents. He charged directly for West. She didn't have enough time to comprehend what had happened before he knocked her off her feet, twisted her arm painfully behind her back and slammed the butt of his arrowgun in the back of her head, knocking her unconscious.

"Well well looks like it's just you and me now." Laughed Xigbar, smirking at Riku and roughly kicking West's limp form across the ground. "Little brat put up a fight." And with that, the nobody shot his gun again, hitting Riku right in the leg as the teenager howled in pain and fell to his knees. Xigbar loomed over him, both arrow guns in hand. "Looks like I'm the winner here."

"I'm not losing to you!" roared Riku, grasping Soul Eater in both hands. Suddenly, the blade and his arms erupted into flames and smoke of darkness. Both Riku and Xigbar gasped at the sight. Neither one could move until Riku shook his head, snarled at the nobody and ran towards him, the darkness intensifying with every step he took. The pain in his leg seemed to vanish completely. Riku swung towards Xigbar, the dark flames growing upon impact to Xigbar's chest. It sent him flying across the chamber and sliding across the floor.

Riku panted heavily, clutching his heart as the darkness around him slowly faded. "Now... You're gonna... You're gonna..." The young man's panting grew heavier and heavier until he was forced to his knees and then cumbled to the ground, passed out from exhaustion.

Xigbar pushed himself back up to his feet laughing and smirking with satisfaction. "See what happens when you over exert yourself, kid?" Xigbar laughed, looming over Riku's fallen, unconscious form. "Well, thanks for making my job so much easier."

The nobody reached out his hand to grab his target, when suddenly, darkness and green light appeared in front of Xigbar. It grew, until the shape of the brown-robbed figure appeared in front of him.

"I would not do such a thing if I were you, Braig." It spoke, sending chills down the nobody's spine, for he recognized the voice.

"No way!" Xigbar exclaimed, eye wide. "You're Xemnas's heartless?!"

"Correct." He nodded. "I understand my nobody's keen interest in the boy. However, I need him for my own use. You saw the darkness he produced, already I have a strong hold on his heart. Now, you will return to your castle and tell your superior exactly what you saw. Or do I need to remind you where your loyalties lie? You haven't forgotten the deal you made ten years ago, have you?"

"No way, man!" Xigbar exclaimed, backing up. "Everything's cool. I'll just give Xemnas the message. You do... Whatever it is you're doing. And... Yeah... Later!" Then, he vanished through a corridor of darkness.

The figure smirked and chuckled lightly under his hood, then turned back towards Riku's sleeping form. "Don't you worry, Riku. Let the darkness in, I'll make sure to take very good care of you." Then, he disappeared into the darkness, yet still keeping Riku locked in his deep slumber.

West groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. _What happened to Xigbar?_ She thought, _Why'd he leave? Riku! did he- _Her thoughts were soon interrupted and she released a sigh of relief when she saw Riku still sprawled on the floor and showing no sign of waking up. "Riku!" She exclaimed, pushing herself up and rushing over to his side, cradling his limp form in her arm. "Riku? Riku, c'mon wake up!" Silver-haired youth gave an unconscious groan as his only response. West placed two fingers against his throat, sighing in relief when she felt a heartbeat.

"I need to get you back to the ship, just hang in there." West told him, lifting him on her lap with some difficulty. She brushed his sweaty bangs out of his face, noticing how innocent and vulnerable he looked at that moment. The thief pulled out another potion, relieved when she felt Mushu was still safe. She gently opened his mouth, pouring the green liquid down his throat. Riku shifted in his sleep, but he still wouldn't stir.

West sighed in defeat, but her head snapped up at the sight of a corridor of darkness opening in front of her. When no one came out, West came to the conclusion that Maleficent had sent it to pick them up. The thief hoisted Riku's arm around her shoulder and released a grunt at discovering how heavy he was. West slowly half-dragged Riku into the corridor, just as it closed behind them.

~*KH*~

Back in Traverse Town, Mickey sat quietly at the table inside the small house. Leon had been furious when Mickey delivered West's message. He hand gone on a punching-walls and violent heartless-slaying fit, but the mouse king knew from years of knowing the young man that this was his way of showing he was worried for West.

The rest of the resistance was no exception. Cid had gone off into a cursing-fit, Yuffie was biting her nails until there was nothing left and Aerith was head silent. Leon had sent West's family off on a Gummi ship to go find her the first chance he had, but they still hadn't come back yet.

On the floor, Pluto lay on his paws and released whimpered cry. Mickey looked down at his loyal companion and gently scratched him behind the ears. "I know boy, I'm worried too."

Just then, the door to the small house opened and Kyra, followed closely by Rusty and Lydia stepped inside.

"Did you hear anything?" Kyra asked in more of a demanding tone. Mickey only shook his head while Kyra and Lydia both sighed in defeat and sat down next to him. Rusty hopped up on Kyra's lap and she immediately started scratching him behind the ears.

"I just don't get it." Kyra said. "Why would West leave like this?"

"Honey, do you really have to ask?" Lydia asked in her heavy english accent. "You know West has an adventurous spirit. She wasn't made to stay cooped up in one world."

"But Maleficent invaded Traverse Town a million times before; why now?" Kyra argued.

"She said Maleficent offered her something she couldn't refuse." Mickey explained. "Her memory."

"Is she serious?!" Exclaimed Kyra. "She has to know Maleficent's deceptive! What's she doing?!" Before Mickey could answer, the door swung open and Lulu, Zell, Irvine, Kim, Lewis and TJ wandered in with sorrowful looks on their faces.

"Where is she?!" Kyra demanded, standing up. "What happened?!"

"Ask Lulu!" TJ snapped, running into the house and collapsing on the bed. Lydia, Mickey and Kyra all stared at the group, specifically Lulu, waiting for a response.

"It's my fault." The Mage admitted, crossing her arms. "I was angry with Riku for taking her from us. I was trying to convince West to come home. But, when she started defending that good-for-nothing punk something inside me just snapped. I-"

"She called West stupid!" Zell interrupted, earning him a glare from Lulu.

"Oh, Lulu, sweetie you didn't!" Lydia exclaimed, rubbing her temples.

"Yeah she did! Then West ran off crying and we couldn't catch her."

"We thought it would be better if we gave West some space for now." Kim added. "I don't think we're in her good books right now."

"Whelp. That sounds like the best thing to do." Mickey said while Pluto nodded in agreement.

"Wait! So we're just going to leave her in the hands of that witch! Have you forgotten what she's capable of?! What's the matter with you people?!" Demanded Kyra.

"Kyra, if we run after her and force her to come back she'll hate us even more. That may cause her heart to fall to darkness and we'll loose her forever. I think we can all agree that's not a risk worth taking." Kim argued. Kyra released heavy breaths. Realizing that Kim was right, huffed in response. She stormed out of the small house, pushing her way through the crowd with Rusty at her heels.

"Don't worry. Your hearts are connected to West's. If she needs you, you'll know." Mickey told them before standing up from his seat and walking towards the door, Pluto following closely behind. "Whelp, I better get going. After all, the door to darkness waits for no one."

As they walked out of the small house, Pluto kept following Mickey. Until the mouse king held up a hand. "No, Pluto. You can't come with me." Pluto released a small sad whine, pressing his head against Mickey's palm. Mickey felt small tears welling up in his eyes as he bent down and hugged his long-time companion."I'm sorry, fella, but it's not safe for ya. Don't worry, I'll be back."

Mickey then reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope with his seal on in and handed it to Pluto. "I have a job for ya pal; when this is all over, can you find Sora, Donald and Goofy and give this to them?" Pluto sadly nodded his head and took the letter in his mouth. Mickey managed a small smile and scratched Pluto behind the ears. "That's my good boy." Finally, Mickey turned away from Pluto and pulled out his Star Shard. He gave one last sad look at his friend before lifting it into the air and vanishing in a burst of stars and flying off Traverse Town.

Pluto didn't move from his spot for a long time, watching the evening sky where Mickey disappeared to. After what seemed like forever, Pluto released another whimper and walked down the streets with his head down.

No one noticed another Gummi ship leave the world; one containing someone set on getting their sister figure back home from danger.

**PrismRain13: so that's the end of that chapter! Riku's darkness is growing, Mickey's off to the realm of Darkness, Pluto gets a letter and someone else has set off Traverse Town.**

**Xigbar: oh Yeah, huge guess on what's going to happen next.**

**PrismRain13: quit being sarcastic! So remember to leave a review guys and I apologize in advance if I end up leaving this for a long time; again, blame school and grad!**

**(1): Fusion lv. 2: _Gravity Launch_**

**Jared Reese; yes! Both those worlds are coming up! One's right after Monstro! And, I'm not sure about _Reconnected_ yet, Lulu does have a lot to be mad at him for.**

**Nasira; no. Nasira won't be replacing Jafar, no one will. If I keep having Maleficent replace her team members we'll never get to the point where they're all gone and Ansem ending up being the main threat.**


	24. Heartless Control

**PrismRain13: hello people of the Internet! Guess what I'm doing now? *screen pans out to see Prism laying over her desk with mountains of homework and study notes* Yep! It's that time of year where it's beautiful outside for once in Canada but we can't enjoy it because of stupid exams!**

**Hades: man it must suck to be you.**

**PrismRain13: yeah; diploma exam month kills me; writing fanfiction is the only refuge I have.**

**Hades: Prism doesn't own kingdom Hearts or any of its characters. She does however own her OCs and a mountain of schoolwork.**

**_Chapter 24: Heartless Control_**

West stumbled through the corridor of darkness, with each step her breath grew raspier and raspier. The darkness was known to drain a great deal of energy from one's heart when in contact with it for too long and West herself found she was no exception to the rule. The weight of Riku's unconscious form was weighing her down and she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep this up.

After what felt like forever, West could see the end of the corridor. She steeped out, onto the deck of Hook's ship and collapsed to her knees, breathing heavily. West continued to wheeze as a shadow loomed over her. She looked up into Maleficent's cold gaze as chills went down her spine.

"Are we feeling alright, my dear?" The witch asked with a barely visible smirk.

"A little queasy, but fine." West replied, forcing herself to her feet and pulling Riku's limp form up with some difficulty. "But Riku needs help now!"

Maleficent only nodded once, scooped up Riku in only one arm. West noticed how much the silver-haired boy looked like a small innocent child in the witch's arms. Maleficent turned away from the thief towards the Captain's cabin. "Not to worry, dear. He will be very well taken care of." The witch said without looking at West before disappearing through the door.

West stood there for awhile, staring at the door the witch left through. But she nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand on her shoulder. West released a surprised shriek and spun around to fins Hook and his lackey, Mr. Smee staring at her.

"Uhhh... Hey... What's going on?" West asked nervously.

"You look worn out, Lass." Hook said with a slight smirk.

"Huh? Oh... Yeah I guess I'm a little tired." West replied with a quiver to her voice as she stretched her arms.

Hook slowly inched himself closer and closer towards her as West backed up. She was feeling uncomfortable with the way he was looking at her; it was like she was prey about to be killed. "I see. Smee, show our young guest to the guest cabins."

"Right this way." Smee said with a smile on his face, holding West's arm and leading her down into the ship. As they walked past the mast, West's eyes widened at the sight of a rope tied to it, but cut and frayed; her lifeline! Someone had tried to get rid of her. Her thoughts were soon interrupted by Smee pulling on her arm and leading her down to a the inside of the ship.

They walked in silence until Smee opened up a wooden door, revealing a simple cabin with a basic wooden dresser table, a mirror and a hammock with a ratty blanket and pillow. West slowly strode into the cabin, finally as Smee let go off her arm. "Can I get you anything? Food? Another blanket?"

West shook her head. "No. I'm just going to lie down for a bit; it's been a long day." Smee only nodded and closed the door, leaving West alone. Once she was sure the pirate was gone, West frantically reached underneath her hoodie and pulled out Mushu's limp form, pulled the pillow off the hammock and put it on the dresser and gently set the small dragon down on the pillow. The thief pulled out three more potion bottles from inside the drawers, gently lifted Mushu's head up and poured the green healing liquid into his mouth.

After the second potion, Mushu's eyes cracked open and the dragon slowly pushed himself up to a sitting position. "Woah... What a wipeout!" The dragon exclaimed.

"You okay, Mushu?" West asked.

"A little beat up, but it's nothing a guardian dragon can't handle." Mushu replied. "Where's Riku? And what happened to the organization guy."

"Riku's fine; Maleficent's tending to his injuries. As for Xigbar, I have no idea. When I woke up he was already gone and he just left Riku there. Why would he hunt Riku down then just give up? It makes no sense!"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Mushu said with a shrug.

"Yeah... We should probably rest up when we have the chance." West pointed out, picking up both Mushu and the pillow and setting herself down on the hammock.

"Don't have to tell me twice; goodnight!" Mushu exclaimed. Before West knew it, Mushu had fallen asleep on the pillow, snoring loudly. The thief couldn't help but manage a small giggle before pulling the itchy, old blanket over her body and falling fast asleep herself.

~*KH*~

Meanwhile, Maleficent proudly strode into Hook's cabin with Riku still limply cradled in her arm. Kairi's body was still laying motionless on the cushioned bench. The witch walked over to the opposite end of the cabin and set Riku down gently on another bench. Maleficent gazed down at the sleeping form of the silver-haired boy, a small smirk creeping on to her lips.

Already, Riku has fallen so deeply into the darkness. The young man before her held so much potential. And now that his friend was here without her heart, the witch was positive he'd do anything to get it back. Maleficent released a small cackle, the situation was by far too perfect.

The only two people who could possibly pose a threat to her were West and the Keyblade Master, Sora, but both will be dealt with soon enough. West will eventually tell her everything she needed to know about the resistance and both will meet their ends. Once she had Sora in her grasp, she will have Riku take the keyblade for himself and leaving the boy and the king's fools to perish at the hands of the heartless. Then nothing would stand in her way. Come to think of it, maybe it was time that Riku fully embraced the darkness, he has proven himself to her. Perhaps it was finally time she granted him the power...

Turning back to Riku, the witch raised her staff, allowing the crystal to adopt a green glow. Cure was not a spell Maleficent used often on others, the only time she really used it was to heal herself. But, considering that Riku was important to her plans, she's have to make an acceptation. The tendrils of green magic creeped out of the crystal of the staff and wrapped themselves around Riku and his injuries as they magically healed.

The green light slowly died down just as Riku opened his eyes and released a small moan. The silver-haired boy inched himself up to a sitting position, wincing at the small amount of pain the battle left behind.

"You really must stop arriving back like this." Maleficent laughed, alerting Riku to her presence. "It must be unpleasant for you."

"You can say that again." Riku grumbled, running his gloved fingers through his hair. All at once he noticed Kairi and without question, stood up from the bench and walked over to her. Still wincing at his freshly-healed wounds.

"I would advise you to at least lie down, Riku." Scolded the witch. "Speaking from experience, the darkness can have a terrible after affect to those who are not used to it."

Riku ignored Maleficent, making his way over to Kairi's side. Neither boy nor witch spoke a word to each other for a long time. Riku stood over Kairi, worry ripping away at his heart. "So, Kairi's like a lifeless puppet now?"

"Precisely." Maleficent gave a short nod.

"And her heart was..."

"Taken by the Heartless, no doubt."

"Tell me! What can I do?" Riku demanded desperately, turning around to face the witch, fists clenched.

"There are seven maidens of the purest heart. We call them the princesses of heart." Maleficent explained, smirking. "Gather them together, and a door will open to the heart of all worlds. Within lies untold wisdom. There you will surely find a way to recover Kairi's heart."

Riku said nothing in reply, he just stared down at the floor. Sora failed Kairi, but he knew would never fail her. If this was what it took to get Kairi's heart back, then this is what he'd do.

"Now, I'll grant you a marvellous gift." Maleficent's voice interrupted his thoughts as Riku's head snapped up to look at her in confusion. "The power to control the Heartless." The witch raised her staff above her as a green light engulfed both the staff and Riku.

It was a feeling similar to the darkness he had once felt, but still somehow different. Now it felt like he was in control of his darkness, like endless power had been bestowed upon him. For the first time since his journey started, this was the time Riku truly felt that nothing will ever stand in his way.

Soon, the green glow faded, but the feeling still remained. Riku looked over his shoulder, back to where Kairi lay lifelessly.

"Soon, Kairi. Soon." He murmured with newfound determination to get her heart back. Then, he turned back to face Maleficent. "So where can we find the last princess?!"

"My, my, anxious are we?" The witch smirked. "Patience my dear boy, we will manage to locate the final princess in due time. In the meantime, I strongly believe that you are due for some training."

"What for?! I got through these last few worlds, didn't I?!" Riku demanded.

"Yes, and you arrived back unconscious for two of them. Still, Riku dear, even with your growing skills the heartless are difficult to get full control over at the beginning. This is a new area for you and I'd hate for something unfortunate to happen to you in the middle of a fight because you weren't prepared."

"You're going to make sure I to no matter what, aren't you?" Riku grumbled, crossing his arms while Maleficent nodded. Riku grumbled in defeat. "Fine. Which world? Let's just get this over with."

"Hades will escort you to his world once he arrives and both you and young West are prepared. I suggest you let her know what the arrangements are. She should be in one of the guest cabins."

"Fine. I'll go give her the message." Riku replied, giving one last look at Kairi before storming out of Hook's cabin. He didn't notice or hear Maleficent smirk at him and release an evil laugh.

Riku made his way across the deck, ignoring the activity of everyone around him. He climbed down a wooden ladder he assumed would lead him to the cabins and groaned. Why couldn't Maleficent tell West herself? Why'd he have to go running around this stupid, giant ship looking for her?

Eventually he found the cabins after searching for about an hour. He pushed open the door to the one closest to him and sure enough, both West and Mushu were there. Both curled up in a hammock and looked as though they had not a care in the world.

Mushu opened his eyes and yawned, smiling when he saw Riku standing in the doorway.

"Hey, where've you been?" The dragon asked. "Feeling any better?"

"I've been talking with Maleficent and checking up on Kairi." Riku replied. "And yeah, I feel a little better."

"You know, you might want to keep your distance from that lady." Mushu said, climbing on to Riku's shoulder. "I get that she's kept you safe, helping you save your friend and all that stuff. But still, she gives off this vibe that clearly says 'Danger'."

"Mushu, I can take care of myself!" Riku retorted. "Anyway, she wants us to go with Hades to his world to do some training. So we should probably-"

But before Riku could finish, there was the sound of moaning from West's form as she started thrashing around. The moaning turned into a shrill scream as the trashing intensified as tears poured down her cheeks.

"West?!" Riku demanded, grabbing her shoulders. Both thrashing and screaming kept increasing with every second. "West! What's wrong?!"

"What's going on with her?!" Mushu asked with concern.

"She has to be having one of her night terrors." Riku said. "Quick! Help me wake her up!" Mushu nodded and quickly grabbed her head. Both trying to shake her awake and screaming her name. After what seemed like forever, West's eyes finally burst open. She shot up to a sitting position with a hand over her heart, breathing heavily and the tears were still coming down her cheeks.

"Hey, are you okay?" Riku asked. Before he had a chance to react, West jumped up to him and wrapped her arms around him. Then, she buried her face into his shoulder and started sobbing uncontrollably, causing a great deal of shock to Riku. There was a moment of awkward silence between the trio before Riku started rubbing her back soothingly. "It's okay, calm down."

"It was horrible..." West sobbed, clinging on to Riku tighter.

"Uhh... so, I can tell a guardian dragon's not needed here... So... Yeah, I'll just go." Mushu stammered before darting out the door, leaving Riku and West alone in the cabin.

After Mushu had left, Riku pushed a teary-eyed West away from him. Then moved to rub her shoulder.

"Are your night terrors always this intense?" Riku asked. West nodded, whipping the tears from her eyes. Then looked up at Riku in confusion.

"How'd you know about my night terrors?" She asked.

"I heard you screaming that night in Traverse Town; Lewis told me about them." Riku replied.

"Yeah. I've had them for as long as I can remember." West told him. "Before TJ came along, no one else could understand. They were comforting and everything, but still. I think the late-night talks about our nightmares together are the only thing that kept us sane."

"Do you want to talk about it with me?" Riku asked. West looked up at him with an eyebrow raised.

"Are you sure? It's pretty scary."

"Yeah, I'm sure. I think I have an idea on what you're going through." Riku said, thinking back to the nightmare he had when he first got to Hollow Bastion. West smiled at his reassurance, before taking a deep breath and moving to explain her nightmare.

"It's really weird; every time since I was six it's been basically the same thing. I'd be in this dark area and I can't see where I am. There'd be sounds of thunder tons of other people screaming. Then I'd see the yellow eyes of the heartless coming out of the ground and inching closer and closer to me. I'd run into the darkness but the heartless were still ganging up on me. I kept running, but eventually the heartless grab me and I fall onto this concrete ground, pulling me towards them. Then they just dissapear. And then, this guy in a black coat just shows up out of nowhere. I keep trying to get away but he grabs me and lifts me up by the throat. As the seconds drag on it gets harder and harder to breathe. In the distance, I can hear someone calling for me, but I can't make out what they're saying. Then the guy choking me pulls up his hand and it gets coated in darkness. But right before he's about to attack me, that's when I wake up screaming."

It was eerily quiet between the two of them for a long time. Until Riku chose to break the silence.

"Wow. You're right, that does sound scary." Riku said. West nodded in agreement. "But, you're always so perky and happy. If anyone else had you're kind of night terrors they'd be a wreak."

"I dunno, I guess I just always try and stay positive. I've been told I hide them well." West shrugged. "Merlin says that it might mean something, but I've never been able to get it."

"Have you ever thought that it might be meaningful to the memories you lost?" Riku asked. "I mean, it's a possibility, right?"

"I never thought about it that way, but yeah, I guess so." West replied. "Man, life just gets crazier by the minute."

Riku was about to reply, before there was a loud knock at the door, startling both teens.

"Hey Kid! You and freckles coming to my world or what?!" Hades demanded angrily from the other side of the door. "I don't have all day to be wasting on kids like you! Hurry up or I'm leaving without you!"

There was silence between the two of them after Hades left. Riku and West looked at each other, smiled and then started laughing uncontrollably of the god's outburst. The seriousness of West's nightmare melted away at that moment. For the first time since he left the islands, this was the first time Riku felt like his old self. Just goofing off with a friend; it was like a breath of fresh air. When Riku finally composed himself, he stood up from the hammock and held out his hand towards West.

"Come on, we better go before Hades gets any grumpier and sets the ship on fire." Riku said. West released a small laugh before taking Riku's hand and they both strode out of the cabin.

However, as Riku let go of West's hand making his way up the stairs, he felt a sudden and breif tug at his heart. Like the darkness begging for release. He'd almost forgotten about the new power Maleficent gave him. Training would be needed if he wanted to get this new power under control.

**PrismRain13: ohh suspense! Now you have to wait until the next chappie!**

**Hades: Are you sure you're not evil?**

**PrismRain13: positive. I don't take pleasure in other people's pain(unless they're fictional in which case I read hurt/comfort and kidnapping fanfics nonstop) thanks a ton for all your support guys! See you next time if I survive my exams!**

**Jared Reese - you don't have to keep thanking me every time I mention you at the end of a chapter; this is my way of replying to Anonymous reviews(sometimes I forget when I have a late night). So, thanks for pointing out the plot hole; I can't believe I missed that! But, I guess it's too late to do anything about it now. Good luck on your KH fic, just be prepared to take criticism.**

**Nasira - okay, I'm just going to come out and say this; ALADDIN'S WORLD IS DONE! I'm not having anyone else from Aladdin show up. I'm sorry but it would mess up the plot line I already have. I get that Nasira's your favorite character but this is my story! Just please stop sending me reviews asking me to put Nasira in, it's not happening.**


	25. Welcome To The Underworld

**PrismRain13: Hey guys! Prism here and guess what I found out yesterday! KINGDOM HEARTS III IS NOW OFFICIALLY IN DEVELOPMENT AND COMING TO THE PS4!**

**Kairi: Finally we can get back to work! I'm so excited to finally kick some real heartless tail!**

**PrismRain13: About time! Now my life is complete! I'm so excited! Now I need to go buy a PS4...**

**Kairi: go check out the teaser trailer if you haven't already! Prism still claims no ownership of Kingdom Hearts, Disney or Final Fantasy. She only owns her OCs.**

**_Chapter 25: Welcome to The Underworld_**

Back at the World that Never Was, Xemnas, Xigbar and a blue-haired member named Saïx sat in one of the secret rooms. It was in one of the castle's highest towers and displayed a clear view of the word below them through a window occupying an entire wall. The room was white with various nobody symbols and chains decorating the walls. There were three white chairs in the room that looked similar to the chairs in Where Nothing Gathers, only less detailed.

None of the other members knew about this room, as the things discussed in here between the three members were things that were kept secret from the others. Xigbar had just recently returned from Monstro and explained everything that had occurred to both Xemnas and Saïx.

"So it's true then," Xemnas said calmly. "My heartless has chosen a host. How ironic that I chose to pursue the same boy for the same purpose."

"What? You wanted to use Riku as a host too?" Xigbar asked.

"We currently only have six vessels created." Xemnas replied. "We'll have to create more if we want to meet our goal of thirteen vessels; we still don't even have thirteen members within this organization."

"Who knew Ansem already had a head start on our goal." Saïx said.

"No matter, one way or another we will have all our thirteen vessels by the time they are needed. Riku will be a welcome host for Ansem. Soon he'll be all to willing to dive further into the darkness. Then, he'll be another vessel." Xemnas explained.

"Yeah, but what about freckles?" Xigbar asked. "As long as she's around, we can kiss the possibility of this Riku kid going dark goodbye."

"I'm confident that Ansem will deal with her soon enough; leaving us with much less work to do."

"What do you wish for me to tell the others, Superior?" Saïx asked.

"Inform them that I no longer have an interest in Riku, but do not tell them why." Xemnas told him. With one nod, Saïx stood up from his seat and left the room through a corridor of darkness. He was soon followed by Xigbar, leaving Xemnas alone with his thoughts.

"Soon, Riku, soon the darkness will take you. It's unavoidable; just like Terra, you don't know how far you've already fallen in." Xemnas said to himself, as a small smirk slowly crept on his lips.

~*KH*~

Olympus Coliseum's Underworld was cold and scary to those who weren't used to it. Riku, West and Mushu(hiding in Riku's pocket) felt the effects all too well. A corridor of darkness opened in Hades's chamber, as the teenagers, dragon and Hades steeped out.

"Welcome to the Underworld, kids. The leading place for dealing with dead souls." Hades stated proudly.

"So, where're we training?" Riku asked, wanting to hurry up and find the last princess.

"Wow, look who's all ready to go." Laughed Hades. "Now, we did have our own coliseum right here in the Underworld; would have been perfect for you two. Unfortunately, my idiot brother, Zeus decided not to let me have my fun."

"Or get more dead people to stay permanently?" West asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Details, who needs 'em?" Hades waved off her comment. "So, you two will be training upstairs in the 'approved' coliseum." With a wave of his hand, two white and gold tickets appeared in his hands. He handed them out to each teenager. As Riku looked at it, he noticed that written in gold letters were the words _Olympus Coliseum Participation Pass_.

"I already signed you kids up for the Titan Cup." Hades continued. "To get out, follow the hallway out the door and g up the stairs. Just go talk to goat front desk and give them your passes to claim your spot. I'll be back to pick you up later."

Both Riku and West looked at each other before shrugging and sprinting out of the chamber. After they left, Hades smirked to himself.

"Hopefully you already have life insurance, freckles. Trust me, after you meet the final match, you'll be begging for it. Not that you'll survive long enough to beg." And with that, he sat on his throne and waved his and in front of him, creating a smoke mirror, giving him a clear view of the games.

~*KH*~

At the Underworld's entrance, there was a large price of rock in the middle of a cold, soul-filled river strikingly similar to the green river of death they had seen just outside Hades's chamber. Mushu had climbed out on to Riku's shoulder and was peering down into the river.

"Ugh. Now that is nasty!" the dragon said.

"Come on, they don't even look dead, it's just their spirits." Riku said. "Believe me, compared to how many horror movies I've seen, this isn't that bad."

"But this is the real thing." West shivered. "These guys really can jump out and drag you under. I'm telling you guys, it's creepy!"

"You're not scared, are you?" Riku asked with a raised eyebrow. He didn't need an answer; West was literally shaking with fear, looking down at the river and all around her nervously and rubbing her arms trying to keep to cold off her skin. She had been acting scared ever since they got here. He snickered under his breath before he held out his arms and moaning like a zombie towards West. "Ughhh... We're coming to get you... Join us in the Underworld..."

"Riku! Cut it out!" West tried to sound brave, but her voice shaking in fear. "I'm already freaked out!" She backed up, remaining unaware of how close she was to the edge of the land. She took one more step backwards, small stones from the rock falling into the cold. West turned her head around and gasped at the sight of the river of death behind her her.

Suddenly, one of the souls caught sight of the two teenagers and jumped out of the river and latched on to West's ankle. West screamed and tried with all her strength to make the soul let go, but it still wouldn't. The soul kept pulling on her ankle until West lost her balance and fell on the stone ground.

She kept screaming and dug her nails into the earth as the soul kept pulling her closer and closer to the edge. Riku had no time to think as he sprinted to West's side and pulled her into a protective embrace with all his strength. He wrapped one around her waist and with pointed the other at the soul. And out of his hand burst a darkness and dark purple fire blast that hit the soul directly in the chest, reducing it to a fading mist.

Both teenagers and dragon just sat there, panting for air and trying to relieve themselves from the shock. Just then, they realized that they were still holding on to each other and quickly separated. Trying to hide their blushing faces. Not even a second passed before West violently punched Riku in the shoulder.

"Ow!" Riku complained, rubbing the sore spot. "Jeez, what was that for?!" However, he was surprised a punch that hard and painful had come from West.

"For scaring the living daylights out of me you jerk!" West responded.

"You know I told him it was a bad idea to mess with you." Mushu quickly started rambling. "But does he ever listen to his guardian dragon? No he does-" But before Mushu could finish, West nearly toppled them over from the impact of wrapping her arms around Riku in another hug.

"But thanks for you know, saving my butt." West smiled as she released a small laugh.

"No big deal." Riku shrugged, trying to pry West off him. "Now can you please let go of me?!"

"Not a chance!" As Riku finally pried her arms off his body, she narrowed her eyes at him. "You do something like that to me again, mister and you'll regret it!" West giggled, pushing herself up to her feet, "Now can we please get out of here and go somewhere, you know, safe?"

"You mean like a coliseum where people kill each other for fun?" Mushu asked sarcastically.

"Yeah! Exactly!" West beamed, "C'mon let's go!" Riku rolled his eyes at her showing her perkiness again, but still followed her up the stairs to the main ground.

Riku pushed open the large double doors of the Underworld's entrance, revealing a bright, beautiful sunny day. Right in front of them was the entrance to a giant Coliseum. The walls were made of strong, beige bricks with a gold-decorated door that reached almost as high as the roof. The door was in the center of two gold, giant warrior statues raising their swords in the air.

"Okay, I officially like this place much better!" West exclaimed.

"Yeah. Let's just get this training over with." Riku shrugged.

"Come on, Riku. Show a little enthusiasm!" West laughed. "Come on, let's go check in at the lobby." She then grabbed Riku's wrist and started dragging his towards the structure in front of them.

As West let go of Riku's arm, he pushed open the doors revealing a dimly lit area with trophies lining the walls and announcement boards. The entrance to the arena was guarded by a short, stubby, brown-furred satyr reading off a checklist with his back turned to them.

Riku and West looked at each other and shrugged, unaware of what to do next. Slowly, Riku walked towards the satyr.

"Hey, where do we..."

"Perfect timing champ!" The satyr exclaimed without turning around. "Thought you'd miss the start of the tournament. Two words when it comes to victory in the games; know enemies weaknesses!"

"Uhh, that's more than two words." West spoke up.

"You back talking me, champ?! Don't you remember who-" the satyr turned around, and eyes widened at the sight of the two teenagers and the small dragon in front of him. Clearly, he was expecting someone else.

"What do you kids think you're doing here?!" The satyr demanded. "Go on, scram! I got my hands full getting ready for the games!"

"We know, we're competing." Riku scowled as he crossed his arms. He was starting to strongly dislike this guy.

"You two? In the games?!" The satyr fell down laughing. "Oh man this is just cracking me up! First that kid with the giant key now you guys?!"

Riku growled at the mention of Sora, but still tried to stay calm. "Look, sorry us entering your games is funny to you. But me and West are already signed up." And with that, Riku pulled out his pass from his pocket, grabbed West's pass out of her hands and waved them in front of the satyr's face.

Immediately, he stopped laughing, took the passes and looked them over as his eyes widened. "Okay, fine. You're in. Just don't get to cocky; the games aren't too kiddie-friendly." He huffed.

"Alright! With the three of us working together we'll totally kick butt!" West exclaimed, wrapping her arm around Riku's shoulders.

"Oh yeah!" Mushu exclaimed. "We're gonna rock this!"

"Sorry, no can do with the dragon." The satyr stated. "You only got two passes and you just snagged up the last spot."

"Aww come on! I was looking forward to showing off my awesome guardian dragon power!" Mushu groaned.

"It's okay, Mushu. They'll be other times." West said, patting the dragon on the shoulder.

"Yeah, I'll root for you guys though. Maybe check out the snack bar." Mushu shrugged before climbing down from Riku's shoulder and walking to the audience stands. They watched the dragon until he was out of sight, then turned back to the satyr.

"Okay, so when does our first match start?" Riku asked.

"The games start in about an hour." The satyr explained. "Gotta warn you though; some real weirdos signed up. Don't say I didn't warn ya."

"I think we can handle it." Riku smirked, crossing his arms. "Just come get us when it's our turn."

"Fine by me, kid. Just don't come crying to me when you or your little girlfriend get hurt." And with that, the satyr released a huff before storming out of the lobby and into the arena.

"Wow. Talk about being assertive!" West exclaimed once they were alone. "You sure you're up to this?"

"Yeah, I'm positive. We need the training, right?" Riku replied.

"I guess. So wanna look around? The games don't start for an hour."

"You're going to drag me along even if I say no, right?" The islander grumbled.

"You know me so well! C'mon, let's go!" And with that said, West grabbed on to Riku's arm and started dragging him outside to look at the scoreboards and every other new thing she could find.

_This is going to be a long hour..._

**PrismRain13: so, that's it for this chappie! Last one before my exams officially start! *sarcastically* yay...**

**Kairi: relax, you'll survive. Next chapter we'll see how Riku and West perform in the games. And we'll meet some familiar Final Fantasy faces.**

**PrismRain13: you'll never guess who *smirk* thanks so much for all your support guys! Please remember to keep it up with all the reviews! You're all amazing!**

**- Jr Jared Reese - no need to apologize; just relax and know that I always appreciate the reviews. And sorry, but you're wrong about West's nightmare. **


	26. Not The Only Survivor

**PrismRain13: Hey guys! Guess who's back in school. Yep, this girl. But summer was great, got to earn some money, go to conventions and go on some pretty sweet vacations.**

**Phil: Great. Now you can get back to work on us!**

**PrismRain13: yes, that is my plan; work nonstop on my stories in my spare period.**

**Phil: I got two words for you readers; Prism owns nothing!**

**PrismRain13: and for anyone who hasn't seen it yet; go check out Fandom Hearts the musical!**

**_Chapter 26: Not the Only Survivor_**

Honestly, Riku was beginning to loathe West's overly perky attitude. It had only been half an hour and she was literally dragging the silver-haired youth all around the coliseum grounds and museum of famous heroes, stopping every second. She'd drag him to look at the pieces and get excited over everything from artistically crafted statues to old scoreboards from games who knows how long ago.

And to Riku's annoyance; on more than one occasion, West had somehow managed to trip, loose her balance, or touch something causing many artifacts to break. Luckily the people here didn't seem too distressed at the loss of their merchandise and were more focused on today's violent events. Riku placed a hand on his head as a headache started to form. While West was still happily looking at everything the museum had to offer for her short attention span.

"Can't we just go do some training or wait in the bleachers like normal people?" Riku grumbled.

"Hey! I've never been to a museum before! Let me enjoy this!" West retorted with a giggle. "We don't have any on Traverse Town."

"Honestly, I didn't see you as the museum type." Admitted Riku. "After you broke that last vase I was expecting you to want to ditch this place."

"I like anything that can tell me a good story." West shrugged before picking up a small discarded gold coin with the symbol of Olympus on it. "Finally! I was wondering when I'd find something to add to my collection." She exclaimed as she pocketed the coin.

"Collection?" Riku asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You know that shoebox I brought with me? I collect random artifacts from different worlds. Cid and the moogles get them sometimes when the worlds they came from dissapear."

"Any particular reason?"

West shrugged. "Not really; it just seems like a waste to leave them."

Riku groaned at the useless piece of information, rubbing his temples and trying to soothe his headache. "Can we please just go back now?!" He demanded. "I want to get this stupid training over with."

"Fine mister grumpy." Pouted West, setting down the scoreboard. Both teenagers barely said a word to each other as they strode out of the museum and back to the Coliseum. Riku grumbled in annoyance as West skipped along beside him. How in the name of Paopu fruit did she manage to stay so perky?! With a night terrors and a past like hers, most people wouldn't be able to function, so what made West so different?

Soon, after a few minutes of walking and skipping in silence, they were back at the colliseum's entrance. And Riku noticed that there were a lot more people piling into the arena, all entering with excited looks on their faces.

"Wow." West gasped. "Looks like we're gonna have a huge audience for the games! Look at all these people!"

Riku only gave her a short, emotionless nod in response, allowing his eyes to wander. Everyone who entered the arena was just like the last; excited and ready to see some blood. Riku groaned at the crowd they were attracting. But as he turned around, his eyes widened at a familiar sight. A boy, a little younger than himself looking up in awe at one of the golden statues. Sandy blond hair, open yellow shirt, navy pants with uneven legs. No. It wasn't possible! Was it?

"Tidus?" Riku called out to the boy, instantly attracting his attention. He turned around and sure enough, it was the exact same high-energy, athletic boy from his island. He broke into a huge smile before running over to Riku and nearly knocking the older boy to the ground in an attack-hug.

"Riku!" Tidus exclaimed in excitement. "You're okay! No way man! What happened to you?!"

"Friend of yours?" West asked with a smile.

"He's from my home world." Riku quickly explained when Tidus finally let go of him. "Tidus, what're you doing here?"

"What? You thought you were the only one that survived?" Tidus laughed, playfully punching Riku in the arm. "Believe it or not; we have strong hearts too!"

"We?" Riku questioned.

"Me, Wakka and Selphie." Replied Tidus. "We all ended up on another world. We were lucky someone came and helped us when they did otherwise we'd be heartless chow!"

"Wakka and Selphie are here too?!" Riku exclaimed in complete shock. Tidus nodded. "Where are they?!"

"They're busy training for the games with our new friends. Thought I'd check this world out before the games actually started."

"You're entering the games?" West asked enthusiastically. "So are we!"

"Sweet!" beamed Tidus. "Maybe we'll face each other in the ring! So Riku, you didn't tell me you found a girlfriend!"

Both Riku and West's faces instantly turned bright red at Tidus's comment. They tried desperately to hide their faces from each other while at the same time trying to assure Tidus that they were only friends and partners in the games. Their attempt was a failure as far as Tidus was concerned because he burst out laughing.

"Man, I never thought I'd see _Riku_ get embarrassed like this!" Tidus laughed, whipping away a tear.

"Tidus! Tidus, where are ya brudda?!" A familiar voice called out into the open space.

"Come on already, Tidus! The games are about to start!" Another familiar voice followed the first. Riku's head instantly perked up and his eyes widened in shock at the sound of the two voices. The silver-haired youth turned his head to look behind Tidus. And sure enough, wandering and looking for their friend were Wakka and Selphie, looking exactly as they had the last time Riku had seen them.

They were followed by two people Riku had never seen before; a pretty young girl with wavy brown hair with a long bright blue earring peeking out. One of her eyes was green while the other was blue. She was dressed in a white shirt with separate matching sleeves tied around the waist with a yellow string, a long blue skirt and black sandals.

The other companion was an older man with a grumpy scowl on his face, watching the three kids in front of him like a hawk with a deep scowl on his face full of battle scars. He had one arm cradled in his long, red, detailed jacket like a sling and was dressed completely in black underneath.

Tidus immediately turned around, waving to the group of four over. Selphie, Wakka and the other girl waved back but both island residents stopped in their tracks when Riku came into their line of vision. Both Wakka and Selphie rushed over, grabbed Riku and pulled him into a bone-crushing group hug.

"Riku man!" Wakka exclaimed excitedly. "What happened to ya?!"

"We looked all over for you, Sora and Kairi!" Selphie added, tightening her grip to a point where Riku could barely breathe.

"Great," Riku gasped. "Now can you guys let go?!"

"Selphie, Wakka. That's enough." The older man sternly told them in a cold tone that would make anyone stand still. Both Wakka and Selphie released their hold on Riku and stepped away, allowing him to advance towards the young man. He towered over him, and Riku hated to admit it, but he was a little intimidated. Especially by the glare he was giving him. "So, you're the famous Riku."

No one else seemed to notice his glare, But the tension was soon relieved when the new girl stepped forward. "It's a pleasure to meet you." She said in a sweet voice as she did a soft movement with her hands and bowed. "Your friends have told us a lot about you, Sora, Kairi and your islands."

"This is Auron and Yuna." Tidus explained, coming up beside the older man and the girl. "Auron saved me when the islands were destroyed and helped me find Wakka and Sephie! And Yuna's helped us out a lot with her magic!"

"So, Riku." Selphie smirked with a hint of mischief in her voice. "You didn't introduce to your special new friend yet." Riku couldn't help it as he felt himself blush and found himself unable to speak.

Wait. Since when did he let Selphie get to him? He didn't think of West that way! She was just a friend! She was just here to help him with the games. He kept repeating in his mind, but still, a small part of his heart wasn't convinced.

"Hi! I'm West!" She replied, waving as though she was completely oblivious to Selphie's taunt. "I'm Riku's partner for the games!"

"Keep standing around like this and you won't be." Auron interrupted. "The games are about to start, if anyone here still wants to participate we better get moving." And with that, Auron began to walk over to the arena, not bothering to wait for his younger companions.

"Hey! Auron wait up, ya!" Exclaimed Wakka, running after him with Selphie following closely behind. Meanwhile, Riku, Tidus, Yuna and West took a more leisurely pace after them.

"Geez. What a grump!" West grumbled, turning to Yuna. "Is he always like that?"

"Sadly, yes." Yuna sighed. "But Sir Auron still cares about us, he just has an odd way of showing it."

Soon, they had all reached the arena's entrance with the games only minutes away. West seemed to get along rather well quickly with Selphie and Yuna and had gone off to talk more. Wakka and Auron were training together and the Blitzball player was taking every moment of training as seriously as possible and taking every word Auron said to his core. That left Riku and Tidus standing off to the side in awkward silence between the two of them.

Neither boy said a word to one another as the seconds seemed to drag on. Finally, Tidus decided he had enough of the silence and moved to talk to his island friend.

"Sooooo... West seems nice." Tidus remarked. "Where'd you meet her?" Riku still remained quiet for a few more moments. Until he thought about how to awnser his childhood friend without revealing anything about Maleficent or his involvement with the heartless. He didn't get why, but something told him not to reveal too much to Tidus just yet.

"In some town." Replied Riku. "I was looking for Sora and Kairi at the time, and she let me stay with her and her family. One thing led to another and now I'm stuck with her following me on every world I go. What about you? Where'd you pick up the stiff and the girl?"

Tidus looked up at Riku, not fully satisfied with the explanation he received. The younger boy shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets when Riku asked him about Auron and Yuna."It's not as exciting as your story."

"Somehow I seriously doubt that." Riku told him. "Come on, tell me."

"Well, after the islands got destroyed, I found myself in the middle of a bunch of dark ruins on another world. It was really cold, so I made a fire. But as soon as I did, the heartless showed up."

"You know about the heartless?!" Riku asked, slightly surprised.

"I didn't then." Tidus explained. "Auron told me what they were. I would have been a goner if he hadn't shown up and saved me. I still don't know why he helped me. Anyway, I told him about my world disappearing and about you and the others. Auron said that it was possible you guys survived and I practically begged to come with him to look for you guys. He said yes and we started travelling together on his ship, looking on all the worlds we could. That's when we met Yuna; she helped us out with a really nasty, big heartless."

"What'd she do, hit it with that stick of hers?" Riku interrupted with a laugh, looking at the innocent-looking girl that was Yuna.

"No way man! She's a summoner!" Exclaimed Tidus. "You should have seen her, she can bring these giant monsters appear out of nowhere and control them! It's so cool! Anyway, after that she joined us and we eventually found Wakka and Selphie."

"Where were they?" Riku asked out of minor curiosity.

"Wakka was on this island hanging out with lost boys and fighting off pirates, one of them could actually fly! Selphie, we found in this town being harassed by their 'disciplinary committee.'"

As Tidus finished telling his story, Riku found himself getting angrier and angrier at the younger boy. First Sora, now Tidus was abandoning him?! Did he mean nothing to them now?! And he had never heard Tidus get so excited about anything before, the same enthusiasm Sora showed the first time he saw him with the duck and dog. So they were happier with him out of the picture? Riku snarled in anger at the younger boy before he finally replied.

"Sounds like you guys have been a lot of fun. Great." Riku grumbled bitterly. "Let me know when the rest of us are going to show up on your list of priorities!"

And with that, Riku stormed away from Tidus, ignoring the sounds of him calling out his name. He kept going until he arrived where West was chatting with Selphie and Yuna. Riku grabbed West's wrist and dragged her alongside him.

"Come on West, we have training to do!" Riku snarled dangerously

"Ouch! Riku take it easy! You're pulling my arm out of its socket!" The thief pleaded as she tried to keep up with his fast paces. "I thought they were your friends, why are you pushing them away?!"

"Like I said before; friends don't abandon you." Was all Riku told her as his eyes once again flashed back to that golden colour.

**PrismRain13: Ohh... sounds like the games are gonna get intense! Bonus points if you can guess where Selphie and Wakka ended up! And I actually have no idea where Tidus met Auron and Yuna so if you have any theories on that my ears are wide open. I'm not even going to bother telling you where they're from cuz they're both in KH2.**

**Phil: Man, sounds like I'm gonna have m hands full with the games. *sarcastically* thanks Prism!**

**PrismRain13: You're welcome! Don't forget to review guys!**

**- Guest; I guess she kinda is :) glad you like the story! **

**- Nasira; cross your fingers and maybe Nomura will add her!**


	27. The Games

**PrismRain13: hey guys! Long time no see! So, I've been pretty busy lately; getting inspiration for this chapter, making my Rapunzel cosplay for Halloween, getting hooked on Ouran High School Host Club and Soul Eater and going on my first date! It's been a crazy month!**

**Auron: I see no excuse.**

**PrismRain13: *pouty face* party pooper! Now do the disclaimer!**

**Auron: Prism claims no ownership over anything she writes about other than her OC's. Kingdom Hearts belongs to Disney and Square Enix, as do Disney ad Final fantasy characters**

**_Chapter 27: The Games_**

Riku stood in front of the closed entrance into the arena, ready for the games to start any minute. West had placed herself against a nearby wall, trying to avoid eye contact with him for reasons he couldn't figure out. He was wounded and angry at being abandoned by his so-called friends, he was ready to dive in and fight anything they threw at him.

He was instantly forced out of his thoughts, by the sound of someone clearing their throat behind him. Riku turned around to find Auron standing there, sending him a glare that sent chills down his spine.

"I couldn't help but notice the rather large scene you had with Tidus." Auron stated.

"Yeah. What's your point?" Snapped Riku.

"My point is that you're getting too close to the darkness. You have to get out now, while you still can." The warrior warned, but in response, all Riku did was roll his eyes.

"Yeah. Sure. Whatever. Like you know anything about the darkness." The silver-haired youth retorted just as a horn sounded for the first match to be in. Riku fearlessly strode into the arena with West nervously following him. Auron watched them leave, bowing his head.

"I know more about the darkness than I care to admit."

West followed Riku into the arena, a little worried about her partner. The last time she'd seen him this aggressive was when he found his friend, Sora in Traverse Town. The darkness must be getting to him. He was her friend, she didn't want to see him get hurt.

She looked up into the crowded bleachers, spotting Mushu in the top row with a buckets of popcorn, roasted peanuts and chicken legs, all double his size. Beside her, Soul Eater appeared in Riku's hand, signaling that the match was about to start. She followed his lead and took out her knife just as the gates in front of them opened.

A tall, blue-skinned, muscular centaur with a long black beard and hair stepped out in front of the two teenagers, smirking and loudly cracking his knuckles.

"Run away while you can, kiddies." The Centaur spoke venomously. "I, Nessus the River Guardian will not be defeated easily."(1)

"Yeah. Well, neither will we! You're going down!" West exclaimed.

"Oooh. I like 'em firey!" Nessus smirked. He raised his hooves and charged straight for West. The thief just barely dodged and quickly counterattacked by slashing at his legs. She wasn't able to cause much damage, and as soon as her knife touched him, Nessus kicked her away with his hooves.

Riku followed West into battle, raising his sword and attacking the centaur. Nessus blocked every one of Riku's attacks with his arms. The Centaur laughed, as though he couldn't even feel Riku's attacks. Then, Nessus pulled back his arm, punching the silver-haired youth in the gut as he collapsed to the ground.

Meanwhile, West pushed herself up, drinking a potion. Quickly, she rushed over to Riku's side, handing him another bottle and helping her partner back up. As soon as Riku drank the green liquid, he felt better in his strength as he raised his blade again.

Nessus charged towards them again with his fists raised and released a battle cry. Riku and West nodded towards each other, stowed away their weapons and stood back-to-back.

"You ready for this?" West asked as she and Riku locked elbows.

"When have I not been?" Retorted Riku. The duo spun around faster and faster with every second, West using her legs to deal damage to Nessus until he was in a dazed state. Soon, West and Riku separated their hold on each other and rushed towards the centaur. They raised their fists, delivering the final blow.(2)

Nessus groaned and collapsed to the ground, signaling West and Riku's victory.

"All right! We rock!" West exclaimed, pumping her fist into the air.

"Gotta admit, not bad for your first go at the games." The duo spun around to find Phil walking up to them. "Just don't get too cocky; the games ain't over yet."

Both Riku and West nodded before following the satyr back up to the bleachers. Where they were instantly congratulated by Mushu jumping on Riku's shoulder.

"Oh man! You guys were great out there!" The dragon exclaimed, Riku and West taking their seats. "Man, that ugly centaur didn't stand a chance against your mad skills! If I'd been in there with you two, he'd be begging for mercy in ten seconds flat!"

Riku managed a small smile at Mushu's enthusiasm, but it quickly faded away when he saw Tidus and his team enter the arena. Instead of the red stick he had seen the younger boy use back on the islands, Tidus was holding a long blue blade that looked like it was made out of water. Wakka still held his old blitzball, Selphie was carrying a pair of red nunchaku, Yuna had a gold and blue staff and Auron pulled out the sharp blade he had strapped to his back.

The silver-haired youth leaned in, eagerly awaiting to watch their battle. Within a few seconds, the gate on the opposite end of the Coliseum opened as a giant, bloodthirsty hydra slithered out into the battlefield.

Tidus and his four teammates readied their weapons as the hydra snapped is jaws towards them. Selphie was the first to act, slamming one of the hard handles of her nunchaku against the beast's head. Wakka followed her lead and threw his blitzball, smacking the hydra directly in the jaw, sending it into a dazed state as its head collapsed to the ground.

Both Auron and Tidus rushed in with their blades raised, attacking the hydra with everything they could in the small amount of time they had before the monster woke up again. Not long after, the hydra shook and raised its head, hissing at them and slashing at Tidus with its claws, leaving behing a deep cut on his shoulder.

Yuna acted quickly, raising her staff and casting a cure spell on Tidus, instantly healing him. The hydra snapped at them, almost catching Selphie in its sharp teeth. Yuna stepped forward and fearlessly raised her staff. In a flash of golden light, a red, feathery dragon appeared above her.

"Valefor! Go!" She exclaimed as the dragon nodded to her. Valefor opened her mouth as an orb of light appeared. The dragon then fired a matching beam in front of the hydra. No sooner had the beam touched the ground, the earth underneath the beast erupted, dealing a massive amount of damage. The hydra struggled to stand, before finally collapsing to the ground, the match had ended.

The crowd erupted into applause as Tidus, Auron, Selphie, Wakka and Yuna waved to the audience. Even West and Mushu were joining in on cheering them on. Riku glared at his former friends, clearly he was going to have to step up his game.

The rest of the games past in a similar fashion; Riku and West would battle a few monsters, then Tidus's team would follow with their own match. So far, their opponents had been easy enough to deal with that Riku didn't need to use the new power Maleficent gave him. And to be honest, Riku was getting annoyed. Was it too much to ask for a decent challenge if he was forced to be here?!

Now, they were finally nearing the end of the tournament. Riku couldn't wait to get off this world and continue looking for the rest of the princesses so he could help Kairi. He was leaned up against the wall of the lobby while West was off double checking their item stock and talking with Mushu.

The sound of the crowd cheering signaled the end of the previous fight. And judjung by the enthusiasm of the audience, it was another victory for Tidus's team. Riku didn't have long to think before Phil strode into the lobby and stopped in front of him, West and Mushu.

"Okay, time for the final match." The satyr stated. "You up for this?"

"Yeah. Bring it." Riku said in a bored tone. He and West were just about to walk out into the arena, before Phil grabbed Riku's wrist, stopping him in his tracks.

"Not you, mister big-shot. Just the girl." Phil said.

"Wait, what?!" exclaimed West as she tensed up. "You can't be serious!"

Phil shook his head. "Nope. I mean it; your passes put you in specific spots in the games. No changing it." West paled at the news; she'd never been able to do much on her own. She was always the thief on the side who made sure her teammates were taken care of and could only cause a set amount of damage and steal from their enemies. Riku, she could see fighting one of these matches on his own, but her?

Slowly, West released a nervous breath. "Okay, Phil. I'm ready." Phil nodded before walking back to the bleachers. She was just about to step into the arena before Riku grabbed her arm.

"Are you sure about this?" The silver-head asked with a small amount of concern in his voice.

"No." West admitted. "But we were sent here to train, right? I need to learn how to take care of myself eventually, right?"

West didn't say another word as she nervously stepped into the arena. Riku watched her leave as Mushu climbed up his arm and rested on his shoulder. The islander had to admit, he was worried about her. Riku groaned, stepping back up to the bleachers. He reluctantly took a seat, waiting for the match to start.

"Think she'll be okay?" Mushu asked, grabbing his bucket of popcorn.

"I have no idea." Admitted Riku, watching West step in the centre of the arena. He could clearly see her shaking with fear as she pulled out her knife. _Please be an easy one, please be an easy one_. Riku found himself mentally begging.

The doors on the opposite end slowly opened, and the entire crowd gaped, horrified at what they saw emerge.

A giant, fat, titan of a cyclops as tall as the Coliseum stormed in. He had sharp, deadly teeth and nails and was only wearing a cloth around his waist. The entire arena shook with every step he took. West gulped in fear as the cyclops looked down at his opponent, then burst into a fit of deep laughter. (3)

"Oooh. You puny weakling!" The Cyclops laughed, poking her in the stomach with his nail, causing West to stumble backwards. The theif gulped in fear, shaking. West had no time to react as the Cyclops swatted her with his giant hand. Sending her flying across the arena and violently slamming into the wall. West hissed and moaned in pain, sliding down the wall and landing on the ground.

The audience was on the edge of their seats, Riku and Mushu gasping at the sight of West getting beaten to a pulp. Riku's hands curled into fists, snarling at the giant Cyclops as his eyes briefly flashed yellow and Soul Eater appeared in his hand.

No matter how much West ran around the arena, no matter how many potions she took, she was trapped. The Cyclops was easily winning this battle and he knew it. He was laughing at her as he grabbed West in his giant hand and lifted her up to his eye. With whatever small amount of strength West had left, she used to try and squirm out of the Cyclops's grip.

"No hero save you now!" The Cyclops laughed. "You weak!"

"At least I'll go down trying!" West exclaimed weakly. She managed to free the hand holding her knife and stabbed the Cyclops's hand as hard as she could. The Cyclops howled in pain, dropping West.

Time seemed to slow down. West screamed as she closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact of the stone-hard ground. But the blow never came. Instead, she landed in someone's strong arms. Grabbing her before she could hit the ground, and carry her away from the wrath of the Cyclops.

Slowly, West opened her eyes and looked up to find it was Riku. Glaring at the Cyclops, Riku gently set her down and handed her a potion. Mushu jumped off his shoulders, firing small balls of fire at the Cyclops's eye, temporarily blinding him as he howled in pain. West drank the potion, most of her injuries instantly healing while Riku took a battle stance, pointing Soul Eater at their giant opponent.

"Riku?" West asked. "What are you doing?!"

"Get out of here; me and Mushu can handle ugly over here!"

"But-"

"Just go!" Riku roared as his arm burst into dark shadowy flames, shoving West into the bleachers. The islander gasped at the sight of his arm and stared at it just as the flames extinguished themselves.

Riku shook his head and raised his blade, hitting the Cyclops in the legs a few timed before he fixed his eyesight and started attacking Riku. The Cyclops smashed the ground with his fists and stomped. Sending both Riku and Mushu tumbling into the air, then violently slamming to the ground.

Riku pushed himself back up, and brushed off the pain before running back into battle, while Mushu looked like he was about to pass out. Noticing that Riku was still up and fighting, the Cyclops released an angry battle cry, swinging his fists towards him. The islander managed to dodge every attack it threw at him. But then, just as the Cyclops was about to attack again, he released a sudden cry of pain.

The silver-haired youth stopped moving and gasped at the sight of Tidus standing in front of him, blocking the Cyclops's hand with his sword. Auron and Yuna stood on either side of him with their own weapons raised. Yuna raised her staff towards Riku, casting a cure spell as he instantly healed. As Riku glanced towards the bleachers, he noticed Wakka holding a beaten-up Mushu and Selphie trying to stop West from charging into battle when she was still injured.

"Back off ugly!" Tidus exclaimed, swinging his sword at the hand again. The Cyclops releasing another roar of pain.

"Tidus, what are you doing?!" Riku exclaimed in confusion.

"What does it look like? I'm helping my friend out!" The blond boy smiled at him.

"I didn't ask for your help!" Snarled Riku in response, clenching his fist.

Auron looked toward the island boy, sending him another cold glare. "Too bad. You're getting it anyway." Riku scoffed at the strong warrior, but still stood beside them and raised his blade.

"Fine. Just don't get in my way." He snapped, ready to fight against the giant, angered Cyclops.

**PrismRain13: those of you who want to see Riku use the darkness; say tuNed for the next chapter! Thanks for reading guys and being so patient after I left this for so long! You guys are so awesome!**

**Auron: don't forget to read and review; otherwise I have to deal with her insolence.**

**PrismRain13: ...meanie.**

**(1): briefly appeared in the Hercules movie; when Herc and Meg met.**

**(2): Fusion level 3; _Tornado Slicer_**

**(3): also appeared in the movie after Hercules looses his strength.**


	28. Dark Summoning

**PrismRain13: hey guys! Happy early Hollidays :) Here's a chapter to celebrate! The conclusion of Olympus Coliseum!**

**Hercules: Hope you enjoy, but try not to get too mad at Prism for what happens in this chapter.**

**Prism: hey! Spoiler alert! I still own nothing; KH, Disney and FF belong to their respective owners.**

**_Chapter 28: Dark Summoning_**

Maleficent sat on her dark throne in Hollow Bastion's Castle Chapel, watching Riku and the three others battle against the Cyclops. The projection was playing on the stone floor beneath her. The witch couldn't help but chuckle as the beast smacked the blond sword-wielder into the wall causing him to bleed, but she frowned when the girl healed him.

Turning her attention back to Riku, she noticed even with allies, including an experienced warrior, fighting alongside him, he was still having a hard time against the Cyclops. The darkness was quickly growing within him as he got more and more frustrated. "That's it, my dear Riku. Unleash the darkness within you and use the heartless." Maleficent purred with a cackle just as her raven, Diablo flew in from the window and rested on her shoulder. The witch stroked his feathers as her gaze shifted over to West and allowed her thoughts to wander.

"Now then, what to do with our pesky little thief," Maleficent said to her raven. "Hades and Jafar had been so certain they'd be able to handle her. Oh well, this is the price one pays for placing trust in such imbeciles. If I do not receive results from Ursula, Oogie Boogie or Captain Hook soon, I may be forced to take matters into my own hands."

With that, Maleficent stood from her throne and began walking out. "Come now, my pet, we best be checking up on them." as soon as the witch opened the door, she was greeted by the sight of Ursula smiling devilishly at her. "Can I help you?" Maleficent asked with a bored tone in her voice.

"Yes, actually." The sea witch replied with a laugh. "I just learned that the Keybearer and the king's two idiots have just arrived on my world. I believe it's high time you sent your little brats with me."

"I was just on my way to Hook's ship to wait for them to finish with Hades. Come, let us walk and talk. Or in your case, _slither_ and talk."

~*KH*~

West watched as Riku, Auron, Tidus and Yuna fought against the Cyclops, the monster that she was supposed to defeat. It made her so angry that she couldn't fight back, that she had to be saved and watch someone else fight for her like some cheesy damsel in distress. Wakka was still holding the injured Mushu, and Selphie was still holding on to her wrist to make sure she didn't run back into the arena. She was surprisingly strong, as West had yet to escape from her.

"Selphie, let go of my arm!" West exclaimed. "I need to help them!"

"No way!" The brunette retorted. "You're already beat up; you'll make things worse for yourself!"

"But I can't just sit here!"

"You're going to have ta." Wakka stepped in, Mushu laying in his arms. "We know how you feel, ya."

"Relax already, they just need to stay out of its way until Herc gets here." Phil spoke up, turning to West. "I had no idea this guy was your opponent. Even the best barely made it out of a fight with him. I already called Hercules; he'll end this fight." West sighed in defeat, watching the battle progress in front of her and hoping that they'll be able to win and make it out of the arena okay.

Riku stumbled backwards after avoiding an attack from the Cyclops' giant fist. The silver-haired boy quickly regained his footing before rushing back into battle. Tidus jumped right in after him, attacking the Cyclops' giant wrist with his sword. Auron dove behind, attacking his ankles. Raising her staff, Yuna summoned Valefor again. The dragon spirit was only able to get one attack in before the Cyclops swatted her away, causing her to collapse to the ground in pain. Releasing an angry howl, the Cyclops stomped on the ground, causing the four of them to fall to their knees in pain. Yuna quickly cast a cure spell, but only managed to restore a small portion of their strength.

"Why can't we win?!" Tidus exclaimed.

"Because this is over our heads." Auron stated. "We can't do nearly enough damage to this thing."

_No. That can't be true! _Riku thought desperately_. I need to win! I need to survive for Kairi!_

_You will._ A second voice spoke through his mind. _But not this way. Keep going like this and you are doomed to fail._

_What do I do?! _Riku demanded.

_You have control over the heartless. Use them. Drown your opponent into the darkness. Give in to it. _The voice persuaded. Riku closed his eyes, trying to focus on the darkness within him. He had to do it, the heartless had to obey him, he had to make it out of this fight. Then, Riku suddenly opened his eyes and held out his gloved hand in front of himself, begging for the heartless to come.

Suddenly, a swirling pool of inky darkness appeared inches in front of him. Riku's eyes widened at the sight of a group of shadow heartless emerging out. The Cyclops took one look at the tiny creatures and immediately started laughing.

"Tiny bugs no help!" The Cyclops laughed. "They weak like you!" The heartless' beady yellow eyes eyed the Cyclops hungrily as they jumped out of the corridor and started moving towards him. Riku focused more on his darkness, causing more heartless to jump out and follow the others. The Cyclops was still so busy laughing, that he didn't notice the army of heartless climbing up his legs. He only noticed the black creatures were on him when his body was completely covered.

Immediately, the Cyclops panicked; he was jumping and shaking, trying to get the creatures off of him. His arm hit one of the pillars, causing it to slowly crumble. Everyone watched in mixed emotions of fear and shock. Before long, The Cyclops collapsed to the ground as the heartless completely covered him. The pile of darkness grew smaller and smaller by the second until there was nothing left, the heart had been devoured. The heartless didn't waste any time in leaving through the corridor, vanishing as soon as all the heartless were gone.

Completely drained of energy and his heart acing, Riku collapsed to his knees, clutching his chest. Selphie couldn't hold West back anymore; she dashed into the arena and pulled Riku into a tight embrace.

Tidus only stared af Riku in complete shock, having no idea what his friend was capable of. The islander had no idea of the falling, crumbling pillar behind him. Auron gasped in shock, wasting no time in rushing towards the boy.

"Tidus! Look out!" Auron pushed him out of the way of the pillar just as it fell on him. Tidus fell on his knees to the ground, gasping at what he saw.

"AURON! NO!" Tidus exclaimed. He immediately rushed over to try and push the pillar off of his mentor, Auron's breathing show and weak. Yuna, Wakka and Selphe ran into the arena to help. The group of four didn't even notice when another person joined them, lifting the pillar off Auron's body like it weighed nothing. He was tall and muscular with wavy blond hair and dressed in bronze armor.

"Herc!" Phil exclaimed from the sidelines. "You made it!"

"I left Olympus as soon as I heard about the cyclops." Hercules quickly explained, discarding the pillar and moving Auron on to his back as the swordsman struggled with his breathing.

"Yuna! Quick, heal him! Cast cure!" Tidus demanded, tears welling up in his eyes. Yuna raised her staff, about to cast her healing magic. But she was stopped when Auron weakly held up his hand.

"Yuna... Don't... This is my end..." Auron said weakly.

"Auron don't say that!" Exclaimed Tidus through teary eyes. "You're going to make it! Who's going to protect us if you die?!"

"You... Don't need... My protection... Anymore..." Auron smiled. "You've... All... Grown... So much... Now... Let me rest... Yuna, Tidus... Your fathers... Would... Be... Proud..." Then, with his last breath, he closed his eyes.

"Auron?! AURON?!" Tidus sobbed. Yuna wrapped her arms around him as they cried together, mourning the loss of their friend, ally and mentor. Their party had now permanently grown smaller, now they'd have to learn to take care of themselves.

It wasn't long before everyone in the arena had moved in to the lobby, setting Auron's beaten and lifeless body inside a light-coloured coffin. No one could hold it in; even Phil was starting to cry as he set up a small hero's memorial for Auron. Riku watched from his position at the back of the room with West and Mushu. The thief was had tears falling freely down her cheeks, holding on to Riku's arm and Mushu had bowed his head in respect while he was resting on the young man's shoulder.

Yuna was knelt in front of the memorial, praying. Selphie and Wakka were embracing, trying to comfort each other. And Tidus was holding his sword so hard his knuckles turned white, quickly wiping away his tears as they kept coming. Riku tried his best to look put together, but he couldn't help but feel guilty. If he hadn't summoned the heartless, Hercules would have come, taken care of the Cyclops for them and Auron might still be alive. It was eating away at him.

"You know, you can't blame yourself." West said softly. "Phil said even the toughest of heroes had a hard time with that thing. If you hadn't stepped in, things could have been a lot worse. Sure you used the heartless, but it was what you had to do."

"Wow. You switch sides fast." Mushu commented while West glared at the dragon.

"Not everything is black and white. I just think we need to do what's best for everyone. It's not like I agree with using the heartless, but it was the best choice." West stated.

The lobby was completely silent, until Riku noticed Tidus walking up to them. His eyes were red and puffy and tears were still visible on his cheeks.

"Riku... Me and the others are gonna leave now." The younger boy said. "I just wanted to say goodbye."

"Tidus, I'm sorry about Auron." Riku said.

"Don't apologize. He'd want us to stay strong." Tidus replied quietly. "Just be careful with the heartless." And without another word, he followed Wakka, Selphie and Yuna out of the coliseum, ready to continue their own journey.

"We should probably get going too." West stated after a few more moments of silence. "Hades is probably waiting for us." Riku only nodded as Mushu climbed into his pocket. Both teens walked out the doors, finding Hades standing there with his arms crossed and looking really irritable.

"Took you two long enough!" The Lord of the Dead exclaimed. "I've been waiting in the Underworld for hours!" West shivered at the mention of the Underworld.

"We had some trouble with the last match." Riku quickly replied. If may have been his imagination; but he could have sworn Hades looked more irritated than usual.

"Well, Maleficent told me she wants the both of you back on Hook's ship." Scoffed Hades as he opened a corridor of darkness. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some work to do." Both teens stepped through, leaving Hades. He disappeared in a dark cloud of smoke. The god soon found himself back in the Underworld, looking down at the green, soul filled river.

"And here I thought that stupid Cyclops would be enough to take care of freckles. Who would have thought the kid would jump in. Well, guess it's back to waiting to take down Jerkules and the key-brat." Hades continued to watch the river flow, until his eyes rested on an unfamiliar soul. A man in a long jacket with his arm in a sling, multiple scars and peacefully sleeping in death. "Well, what do ya know, we've got a new recruit. Looks like he could be the mother of all bad guys."

**PrismRain13: Yes I'm sorry I killed Auron! But I needed a reason why he's in the Underworld in KH2! Please don't hurt me! He comes back!**

**Hercules: well, other than that I hope they liked it.**

**PrismRain13: yep. Now if you'll excuse me Herc, I'm going to go hide from the angry mob of readers. *runs away***


	29. Under The Sea

**Ursula: well, well, it looks like we've finally reached my world.**

**PrismRain13: yep! Another one of my childhood favourites. Plus we get some costume changes!**

**Ursula: Would you stop being so enthusiastic, it's annoying.**

**PrismRain13: nope :) I still own nothing and I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**_Chapter 29: Under The Sea_**

When Riku and West emerged from the corridor, they found themselves back on the deck of the ship. It still looked the same; heartless were roaming mindlessly around deck, pirates were preparing for takeoff and Hook and Smee were resting by the edge of the ship. Hook noticed the two teenagers and immediately started walking towards them as the corridor of darkness disappeared from behind them.

"Welcome back." The pirate said with a glare. "I take it yer training went well?"

"Uhhh... Define 'well'." West slumped in defeat. Riku rubbed the back of his neck, trying to avoid eye contact with the captain; he really didn't want to go into detail about what happened on Olympus Coliseum. He had a feeling the pirate wouldn't be very sympathetic.

"Never mind. I don't want to know." Hook stated, waving them off. "Maleficent and that sea witch are waiting for ye both in me cabin. Honestly, do they not respect me privacy anymore?!" Hook threw his arms into the air, storming back towards Smee. Riku and West watched him go, before moving over to the Captain's Cabin.

Sure enough, when they opened the door, Maleficent and Ursula were both in the cabin, drinking tea and sitting on one of the benches near the window. Maleficent looked up from her drink and smiled at the sight of the two teenagers.

"Welcome back." Maleficent purred. "Riku dear, I hear you used the heartless. How do you feel?"

"A little overwhelmed, but fine." Riku replied.

"He took out a giant monster with a bunch of shadows." West exclaimed, back to her perky self. "He couldn't stand up after, though."

"Understandable." Maleficent nodded. "Diving too far into the darkness too fast can be straining on one's heart. Riku, I suggest you take things a little slower, after all, I don't want to be losing you after we've all become so attached to you."

Unsure of what to say in respone, Riku remained quiet. Until Ursula stood from her seat, smirking devilishly at the two teens.

"Now then, I believe it's time we head off." Announced the sea witch.

"Come on, we just got back! Cut us a break, lady!" West complained.

Ursula glared at the two of them, causing shivers to run down their spines. "If the two of you want to get anywhere, I strongly suggest you follow my lead." She extended her hands in front of her and snapped her fingers. Purple smoke appeared and swirled around the two teenagers, completely covering them. It held a deep, chemical-like scent and slightly burned at the touch.

Soon, the smoke evaporated but nothing at all had changed in their appearances. "Uhh, was something supposed to happen?" Riku asked.

"Not yet." Ursula said with a smirk, opening a dark corridor. "But once we get to my world, you'll see a difference." Without a word, Riku fearlessly stepped inside. West quickly rushed after him, followed by Ursula slithering behind them as the portal closed.

Maleficent watched them leave, her expression turning smug as she took another sip of her tea. "Now don't you fail me as well, Ursula. Two of our strongest allies already have; I don't want the same results from you. Drown the brat if you have to." At that moment, Hook walked in, looking more irritable than usual.

"I take it I can have my Cabin back now?" Hook demanded, shutting the door behind him.

"Yes." Maleficent replied. "I'll be heading back to Hollow Bastion shortly. Now, Oogie Boogie will arrive to take Riku and West to his world once Ursula is finished with them."

"Oh. Great." The Captain groaned. "Why don't I just turn my ship into a hotel and invite all of Neverland to stay?!"

"Your ship is currently the only vessel that can travel between worlds. I don't want Riku to fall completely to the darkness just yet; that will happen soon enough." The witch retorted, her eyes wandering over to Kairi's sleeping form on the other side of the room. "His little friend over there guarantees that for me; he'll do anything if he believes it will help her."

"Hmph. I still think having the thief with him is a waste of time." Scoffed Hook. "She wouldn't talk to Jafar or Hades, what makes ye think she'll say anything to the rest of us?"

"Well then, you obviously have much more to learn about strategy. Trust me; I know what I'm doing." Setting her teacup down and picking up her staff, the witch vanished in her flames, leaving Hook alone in his cabin.

~*KH*~

As soon as he emerged from the Corridor, Riku felt as though he had just been dumped in the ocean. When he opened his eyes, he was shocked to find that _was_ what happened. And even more shocked to find he could breathe and that his legs had been replaced with a yellow and black shark fin. His shirt and gloves were gone, showing off his bare, muscular chest while his silver hair flowed around him. He almost didn't notice when a tentacle slithered over his shoulder.

"Well well, looks like my world agrees with you, handsome." Ursula chuckled from behind him. Riku hastilly pulled the tentacle off, glaring at the sea witch.

"I'm not in the mood." He snarled. Riku took a quick glance at their surroundings. He assumed it was Ursula's lair; dark purple walls and a boiling cauldron in the centre. "Where's West?" He asked, just noticing the absence of his partner.

The sea witch released a groan at the mention of her, pointing to a hole in the wall serving as a make-shift window. "Why don't you take a look yourself?"

Raising an eyebrow and with some difficulty, Riku swam over to the hole. His eyes widened at the sight of West happily swimming, rolling and flipping around an open body of water. Replacing her legs was a bright green mermaid fin with multiple extra fins, and she was wearing a yellow seashell top with matching seaweed straps. Her face was pulled into a giant grin and her brown eyes were sparkling with happiness with her pigtails whipped around her face and she laughed. Riku felt himself blush as he watched her. She looked almost... Pretty? Wait! Since when did he think she was pretty?

"Are you done yet?!" Ursula's loud, booming voice snapped both West and Riku out of their trances. "Young lady, if you are done fooling around, we have business to attend to."

"Okay! I'm coming!" West groaned, swimming back up to the grotto and stopping beside Riku. "Geez, excuse me for being excited."

The sea witch glared at her in a way that made West cringe. "Now then." Huffed Ursula. "To business; Maleficent has her heartless searching for the Keyhole. My babies are searching as well."

"Your babies?" Riku asked with a raised eyebrow. Just then, two dark eels slithered beside him. Both had one white eye and one yellow eye.

"That is us." One hissed.

"We are her pets." The other added. Riku quickly pushed the two slimy eels away, the two of them slithering to Ursula's side. She chuckled, scratching her eels under their chins as they cuddled up to her.

"Flotsam, Jetsam. Mommy missed you so much." Ursula cooned while West looked disgusted.

"Do you need some alone time?" She asked.

The sea witch huffed before continuing, "No. I believe we'll have plenty of time for that later on. Now then, I for one am not convinced the heartless are enough to take this world. I need something more; King Triton's trident."

Silence spread throughout the cavern, until Riku spoke again. "Let me guess; you need us to get it for you."

"Honestly, you think I need the help of two teenagers to get me the Trident? I'm not as lazy as Jafar was." Ursula huffed snobbishly. "No; I'll get it myself."

"Then why are we here?" Groaned Riku, his dislike for Ursula growing by the second.

"There's something else I need the two of you to do." The sea with explained. "The Sharkanians have a special shell in their procession. Blow into it, and it casts a spell to shield the caster from true defeat and erases all memories of previous battles from their opponents in their world."

"Why would you want that?" Riku asked. "It sounds a little too good to be true." Laughing in amusement, Ursula wrapped her arm tightly around Riku's shoulders. Causing Riku to feel extremely uncomfortable, but he tried not to let it show on his face.

"I'm so glad you asked." she purred as she pinched his cheek, Riku swatting her hand away. "You see, despite what Maleficent says, I am not willing to risk loosing. With this shell, failure will never be an option for me."

West tried to avoid looking at both Ursula and Riku, as though she was debating something in her mind. "Okay," she finally said after a few moments of silence. "Where do these 'Sharkanians' live?"

Ursula smirked and swam over to her make-up mirror. She opened the drawer, pulled out a map of her world and handed it to Riku. "They reside in a sunken ship on the edge of the Wilderness. I suspect they have the shell hidden somewhere inside. This map will show you the way."

"Right." Riku grumbled in annoyance , grabbing the map. Then he began swimming out of the cave. "Come on, West let's go."

"Hey! Wait up!" West exclaimed, moving her tail faster to catch up with him. Once Ursula was certain both teenagers were gone, the sea witch sauntered over to her boiling cauldron. Waving a hand, an image appeared in the bubbly mist. Two merpeople; one she knew wasn't from this world. Sora, with a blue dolphin tail was swimming beside a red-haired mermaid with a green tail and purple top. Ariel.

Ursula chuckled as she watched them. "Those impudent fools will never find the Keyhole." Waving her hand again, the projection of Ariel swam up to her hand. "But the girl could prove useful. And I've got the Heartless on my side. Triton, my old friend... Your day is coming." The sea witch released a deep, evil cackle as the image of both Sora and Ariel faded away.

**Ursula: the fools have no idea what awaits them.**

**PrismRain13: Why do you villains always have to be creepy?**

**Ursula: oh no reason *creepy evil smirk* poor unfortunate soul.**

**PrismRain13: QUIT IT! *turns to audience* okay, so I hope you liked the world forms I came up with for Riku and West. There's a picture of them on my DeviantArt page if you want to see them. Don't worry, we'll see Mushu's transformation in the next chappie along with various other characters from the little mermaid tv series. BTW; The Sharkanians are from the TV series too I don't own them. And the shell's basically my excuse why Ursula came back in KH2 and why no one remembers her.**

**Ursula: review this chapter now angelfishies.**


	30. Seahorses, Sharks and Shells

**PrismRain13: hey guys I'm finally back in business!**

**Ariel: so we can continue with my world?**

**PrismRain13: yep:) more beautiful images of shirtless, merman Riku. *drools***

**Ariel: *giggle* don't let West see you like that. Prism owns nothing.**

**_Chapter 30: Seahorses, Sharks and Shells_**

Riku and West swam out of Ursula's grotto as Riku held on to the map. He was really starting to hate all these people bossing him around and making him do things for them, but it wasn't like he had much choice. He'd have to deal with running these stupid errands at least until he found a way to get Kairi's heart back.

Outside, both teen's eyes widened at the sight of a garden of creepy-looking things with sad faces attached to the ground. West shivered at the sight of them and clung on to Riku's muscular arm and pressed herself against him. Riku jumped at her sudden grasp as a faint and barely visible tinge of pink appeared on his cheeks.

He could feel West shivering beside him while they moved towards the exit. As they swam past them, the creatures released sad moans and occasionally tried to grab their fins. _What are they?_ Thought Riku, looking down at the creatures as they kept moaning, as though they were pleading for help.

Once the two of them were far enough away from the dark cave, West released a sigh of relief she was holding in and released the hold she had on his arm. Just then, Riku realized that they were missing a group member.

"Hey West, where's Mushu?" Riku asked.

"Oh thanks for finally thinking of me!" Mushu's voice exclaimed as a red and yellow sea dragon with Mushu's head swam out from behind West's tail. "I'm alright! Thanks for asking!"

"Well I couldn't say anything with Ursula right there." Retorted Riku.

"Can we just hurry up so we can leave?! I hate this place! There's way too much water! This is no place for a guardian dragon!"

"Okay, okay, whatever you say, mister grumpy dragon." West giggled, poking Mushu in the stomach as Riku pulled out the map.

"It looks like a long way." The silver-haired youth noted, looking at the route the map illustrated. "We better get moving; the sooner we get this stupid mission done, the better."

"You said it, man!" Exclaimed Mushu, swimming up to his shoulder. "Let's hurry up and go!"

Immediately, Riku and Mushu started swimming on ahead while West couldn't help but giggle. "Geez, why rush you guys? I kinda like it here." She murmured to herself. Her eyes wandered to Riku's bare chest and she felt herself blush. Wait, what was going on? Since when did she think about Riku that way? They were friends.

"West!" Riku called as West snapped out of her thoughts. "Are you planning on coming?" She hadn't realized how far away they'd gotten.

"Hey! Wait up!" West yelled, swimming faster and faster to catch up to them. Mushu swam up beside her and sat on the top of her head. They emerged outside of the entrance to Ursula's grotto

"Hello? Anyone home? Quit spacing out on us!" Mushu said.

"Relax, guys. I'm just enjoying a new world. Let's have a little fun!" The thief laughed, playfully poking Riku in the arm. "Come on, I'll race you to that sunken ship over there! Ready, set, go!"

And just like that, West flipped her tail at lightning speed, swimming as fast as she could. Riku couldn't help but release a small smile before sprinting after her, Mushu holding on to his tail.

"Hey! Woah! Hey what are you doing?!" Mushu screamed from behind him, but Riku barely heard his small companion. All that was on his mind was catching up to West. And for once, since the islands were destroyed, Riku felt like he was having fun. He was reminded of all the fun he, Sora and Kairi used to have racing and teasing each other like this. But, with Sora betraying them, he wasn't sure if having that was possible anymore.

"Wow!" West's voice brought Riku out of his thoughts. He hadn't even noticed they had made it to the sunken ship and past West. "I was having a hard time keeping up, you didn't tell me you were that fast!"

"Well, you're forgetting I grew up on an island." Riku replied. "Racing and swimming were pretty popular pass times around there. And I was always the winner."

Giggling behind her hand, West smiled. "Remind me to race against you again sometime. I bet I can kick that ego of yours down a notch with more practice."

"I don't have an ego."

"Sure ya don't." Smirked West playfully, poking his arm. "You totally weren't just bragging about how you always win."

"Fair enough, you've made your point. Challenge accepted." Riku faintly smiled. West didn't know for sure, but it looked as though Riku was letting a small amount of light back into his heart. However, it didn't last long as the islander pulled out the map again. "We better get going, we don't have a lot of time."

"Oh, okay." The thief replied, slightly disappointed. Deep down, she was hoping he'd forget about the darkness. She knew it wasn't doing him any good to constantly see his friend as a traitor and an enemy.

Just then, the sound of a group of terrified screams grabbed the attention of the trio. "What the heck was that?!" Demanded Mushu.

"Sounds like we've got trouble." Riku said, stowing away the map and dashing away to the sound of the screams. West and Mushu followed him, flipping their fins as hard as they could to try and keep up with him.

It wasn't long until they found the source of the screaming. Two mermaids, a merboy and a small blue octopus were surrounded by a large group of sea neon heartless. The first mermaid had dark skin, shoulder-length black hair, brown eyes and a pink seashell top and tail. She was tightly and protectively hugging the blue octopus, who looked just as scared and worried as she did.

The second mermaid had a blue tail and seashell top with pink lace, had blonde hair and was wearing a great deal of bronze jewelry. The merboy was thin and scrawny with unkept blonde hair and a green tail. He had his fists held in front of him, and even though he was scared, he tried his hardest not to show it.

"Get down!" Riku yelled as the four natives ducked down and covered themselves with their arms. Riku moved like lightning, attacking all the heartless with all his strength. Soon, there was only one left. And before he knew it, the heartless had stolen Riku's map and ripped it into a million small pieces. Riku didn't waste any time in destroying the heartless, but it was too late to save their map. The islander groaned in deafeat and annoyance; how were they supposed to find the Sharkadians now? Slowly, the merpeople and octopus emerged from behind their arms, gasping at the sight of their savior.

"What? You didn't save any for us?" Questioned West when she and Mushu finally caught up.

Riku shrugged. "I had it under control." Before Riku knew it, the blonde mermaid grabbed his arm and hugged him tightly.

"Oh, you were amazing, you defeated all those horrible creatures! You saved me!" She said dreamily, eyes sparkling and smiling flirtatiously. "Thank you!"

"Uhh... You're welcome. Really, it was nothing." Riku said with a raised eyebrow and pulled his arm out of her grip and turn away, only for her to swim in front of her with that flirty glint still in her eyes.

"Oh, you're so modest!" The mermaid giggled, playfully tapping Riku's nose. "Come on, handsome no need to be shy around me."

"Cut it out already, Pearl." The merboy grumbled, crossing his arms. "I was just about to take care of those monsters before he showed up."

"Sure you were, Urchin." The blonde mermaid, Pearl smirked. "That's why you were shaking like a scared little guppy." Urchin pouted at her response.

The dark-skinned mermaid only released a sigh and made some motions with her hands.

"_Sorry about them, sometimes they get carried away_." The octopus said, looking at the mermaid's hands. "_We're really happy you came and helped us, though. I'm Gabriella and this is Ollie_." At that moment, the Octopus shook his head and pointed to himself. "Oh! That's me! I'm Gabriella's interpreter, and friend."

"What's going on?" Mushu asked Gabriella, emerging out from behind West. "You can't talk?" Gabriella sadly shook her head, making more motions with her hands.

"_No, I was born mute_." Translated Ollie. "_So I speak sign language. Though, I really wish I could sing_."

"It's a waste of your time, Gabriella." Pearl laughed. "I mean, it's pretty much a given right; no voice no singing."

Gabriella looked slightly hurt at Pearl's statement, until Urchin and West came to her rescue.

"Pearl, stop it! That's not far to Gabriella!" Urchin said.

"Yeah! It's not her fault!" Agreed West, glaring at Pearl. "That doesn't give you an excuse to be mean to her." Gabriella and Ollie looked up, surprised that they were actually defending her.

"Oh, please." Pearl scoffed, turning her attention back to Riku. "So, handsome, why don't we get away from these stupid guppies, just you and me together."

Mushu rolled his eyes, picking up the small ripped pieces of the map off the ocean floor, groaning when he realized the map was beyond repair. "Man, this sucks. Now how are we supposed to find that stupid shell?" Looking up, the small dragon saw West glaring at Pearl, clenching her hands into fists. "Uhh, West?" Mushu asked, swimming up beside her and waving his hand in front of her face. "Hello? Anyone home?"

Shaking her head, West brushed past Mushu and swam in between Riku and Pearl, pushing the mermaid away. "Anyway, we're looking for the Sharkadians. Do you guys have any idea where to go, by any chance?"

Urchin, Gabriella and Ollie all suddenly started shivering in fear at the mention of the Sharadians.

"Why would you want to go there?" Pearl questioned, crossing her arms. She looked slightly irritated that West had separated her from Riku.

"Oh, me and Riku just need to go there, just me, him and Mushu. So, it's really none of your business." West laughed playfully, wrapping her arms tightly around Riku and Mushu.

"_I heard that part of Atlantica's swarming with even more of those horrible creatures._" Ollie translated Gabriella's sign language. "_Are you guys sure you really need to go there?_"

Pearl looked at Riku dreamily, hoping that West was lying, that he'd want to stay with her. Her hopes were crushed, however when Riku nodded.

"Yeah we do." Nodded Riku, finally pulling himself out of West's hold. "There's something there we need to get for...an acquaintance."

"Well, it's too far to swim from here." Said Urchin. "Your best option is to get a seahorse."

"Great, where can we find one?" West asked.

Pearl huffed snobbishly, crossing her arms and glaring at West. "There's a stable not that far from here. Go on your little journey together, see if I care." The blonde mermaid pointed downstream, where they could see a small shack.

"Okay, thanks for your help." Mushu said as he, Riku and West started heading towards the seahorse shack

"Good luck, guys!" Called Urchin as he, Gabriella, Ollie and Pearl waved to them, then swam off in the opposite direction.

Riku wasn't sure what Urchin had meant when he said they needed to get a seahorse. But, now that they were closer to the shack, he could see what the merboy meant. Inside the stable, reins tied to the walls were a group of giant seahorses in different colours with saddles attached to their backs. They were even whinnying just like land horses were.

"Woah! This is so cool!" West beamed with excitement and swam up to pet one of the seahorses.

"Wait," Mushu said. "So, we have to _ride_ one of theses things?"

"It looks like it." Replied Riku. After a quick scan of the shack, Riku found an old merman with a blue tail leaned casually against the wall of the stable with a toothpick in his mouth. Assuming he was the owner, Riku swam up to him with Mushu on his shoulder. "Uh, do you own this place?" the silver-haired boy asked.

"Yep. Finest sea horses in all of Atlantica." the old man replied. "Yeh looking to rent one?" Both Riku and Mushu nodded.

"Hey Riku! Mushu! Let's get this one!" West called. She was petting a large purple sea horse with a lavender mane as he whinnied in happiness. Though, Riku could have sworn this sea horse was thrashing around wildly when they first got here.

"Stormy?" The stable owner asked, swimming up to her. "Bad idea there, little lady. He's got too wild of a spirit. He'll take ya'll right out into the wilderness and won't have anything else."

"Well lucky for you, that's where we want to go." interrupted Riku, looking at Stormy. "He looks like he'll hold both of us."

"Uhh, yeh sure about this, son?" The old man asked while Riku nodded. "Alright, go on and take him, but don't say I didn't warn yeh." And with that, the stable owner swam away, tending to the other sea horses.

"Okay, big guy. Let's get going!" West exclaimed, jumping on to Stormy's back sidesaddle.

"Uhh, West, do you even know how to ride a seahorse?" Riku asked.

"Nope. Not a clue." She smiled.

"Why am I not surprised." Groaned Riku sarcastically. "Move over, I'm steering; call me crazy but I don't want to get lost." Hoisting himself up in the saddle, in front of West, he took hold of the reigns.

"Meanie." She grumbled with a pout, Mushu sitting on her shoulder.

Ready to go, Riku gave Stormy a small nudge with his tail. Well, he wasn't called Stormy for nothing. As soon as the islander nudged him, Sormy took off like lightning. The speed was so intense that West and Mushu almost fell off. Luckily, West grabbed on to Riku's waist before that could happen.

When the shock died down, West felt herself blush when she realized she was holding on to Riku's half-naked body. Riku himself was blushing as well due to the feeling of her holding on to him. Mushu noticed their reddened faces, smirking and whistling innocently.

It didn't take them long to find the Sharkadian's lair; it was as though Stormy knew exactly where they wanted to go. It was a dark part of the ocean where a ruined sunken ship lay. Merpeople with entire bodies that resembled sharks swam around the structure with spears in their hands and heavy-looking armour, guarding the lair. Riku could only assume they were the Sharkanians.

Stormy came to a halt near the caved entrance to the dark clearing, whinnying in fear. Swimming off his back, Riku turned to his two teammates.

"I'm going in; you guys stay here." He ordered.

"What? Why?!" Mushu demanded in confusion.

"This place is heavily guarded; if we all go there's a bigger chance we'll get spotted." Explained Riku as he turned away to leave.

"Aww, but we wanna help!" West protested.

"You can help by watching Stormy; this won't take long." He snapped rudely. And without another word, Riku flipped his tail and swam out towards the ship. Riku hid in the shadows, trying not to be seen by the Sharkanian guards.

Eventually, with some difficulty, he managed to get near the sunken ship. Noticing a faint glow inside one of the nearby portholes, Riku swam inside. Inside, he found what he was looking for. Resting on a wooden table was the pale pink, glowing shell Ursula had been talking about. Finally, his mission here was close to over.

He was just about to pick it up, when he heard a gruff voice behind him. "Don't even think about it, merboy." Riku turned his head to find a Sharkanian glaring dangeously and pointing his spear at him threateningly.

**PrismRain13: Dun dun dunnnnnn! What will happen next to Riku?! Will he escape?! Will he get the shell to Ursula?! You'll just have to wait to find out!**

**Ariel: you really have a thing for cliffhangers, don't you?**

**PrismRain13: it keeps the readers going! You guys are awesome by the way! So don't forget to review!**

**Ariel: Oh, and Urchin, Gabriella, Ollie, Pearl and Stormy are from _the Little Mermaid_ tv series.**


	31. Drowning Experience

**PrismRain13: hey guys! Prism here with another chapter! Took me awhile to finish this one as I've had a crapload of writer's block, homework and other things.**

**Urchin: And by other things she means playing Lightning Returns and Kingdom Hearts 1.5**

**PrismRain13: *sweatdrop* fine, yes I was gaming instead of writing. But ironically I'm in Atlanica in KH1 :)**

**Urchin: Prism still owns nothing other than her OCs.**

**_Chapter 31: Drowning Experience_**

Riku felt himself freeze on the spot; the last thing he wanted was to get caught. The Sharkadian was too big to take on alone, and he'd probably end up calling more of his buddies.

"Hands on your head and swim away from the shell, punk!" The shark ordered gruffly, jabbing Riku in the back with his spear. Riku groaned in defeat, obeying the Sharadian. "What business do you have here?!" The guard demanded, swimming around Riku with his spear still pointed at him.

"Oh, not much." Riku replied with a smirk. "I was just swimming around. You know I heard this place was really nice this time of year."

Clearly, The Sharkadian wasn't amused with Riku's sarcasm. "Maybe I should take you to see Emperor Sharga. Maybe breaking a few of your bones will help you learn your place." He snarled.

_What are you waiting for, Riku? _The dark voice spoke in his mind. _If you do nothing, you will suffer. Use the darkness, defeat this being and make your escape! You must hurry!_

Time seemed to slow down, the voice's words replaying over and over in his mind. _I can't_. Riku responded to the voice. _I can't win against him._

_You will win if you use the darkness. You will become stronger. Now open your heart to the darkness! _The Sharkadian's hand inched closer and closer to him, ready to grab him. When suddenly, Soul Eater appeared in Riku's hand. He used the dark blade to knock away the Sharkadian's hand, causing a considerable amount of damage in the process.

"Sorry about that," Riku smirked darkly, his eyes shifting yellow. "But I'm in a bit of a hurry, and I'll be taking that shell back now."

The Sharkadian was frozen in fear, but only for a split second. "Over my dead body, merboy!" He snarled, his grip tightening on his spear.

The shark released a battle cry, swimming as fast as his tail could carry him with his spear ready for impact with Riku. But, at the last minute, Riku dodged out of the way and swung his blade. Soul Eater caused a deep wound of the Sharkadian's back, enough for him to drop his spear and release a grunt of pain.

But Riku didn't stop there. Once the Sharkadian was down, Riku kept attacking mercilessly. He kept slamming Soul Eater against his enemy's body, not loosening up his attacks, not even when the Sharkadian couldn't even swim straight anymore. It was as though a whole different side to him was in control. Normally he would have stopped fighting by now.

After what seemed like ages, his body finally stopped attacking, his eyes turning back to their usual aqua green. He lazily glanced at the beaten, unconscious Sharkadian floating in the water. Riku shook his head; he didn't have time to worry about him now. Allowing Soul Eater to vanish from his hands, Riku swam back towards the shell, gently picking it up. He glanced back at the Sharkadian and checked his pulse; he was still alive; just unconscious. He has to leave before he woke up.

As quickly as possible, Riku swam through the porthole, clutching the shell tightly to his chest. He just hoped none of the other Sharkadian's heard the fight. Sticking to the shadows and trying not to be seen, Riku moved quickly through the water, trying to getback to where he told his allies to stay. As he kept swimming, Riku noticed he was getting weaker and weaker. Taking control go the darkness must have taken more out of him than he thought.

Finally, he spotted West, Mushu and Stormy right where he left them. As soon as she saw Riku, West and Mushu swam over to his side.

"Welcome back, took you long enough!" Mushu grumbled.

"Did you get it?!" West asked. Riku nodded, showing her and Mushu the shell.

"Wasn't easy, but I did it." Riku smirked, then grunted in pain as he clutched his side.

"Are you hurt?!" West demanded urgently. Quickly, the thief pulled out a hi-potion from Stormy's saddlebag and handed it to Riku. He took it from her, mumbling a quiet thank you before drinking the green liquid. Instantly, he felt most of his strength return to him and he was grateful for it. "Better?" West asked.

"Yeah, thanks." Riku smiled. "Come on, we better head back so Ursula can get us off this world." Clutching the shell, Riku jumped on Stormy's back with Mushu resting on his shoulder.

"You said it, Riku!" Agreed Mushu. "I don't wanna be a fish anymore! I need to get back to being my awesome dragon self!"

West giggled behind her hand, climbing on the seahorse behind Riku. "Okay, okay you guys. Geez, impatient much." She gently took the shell from him and placed it in the saddlebag. Just as she wrapped her arms around Riku's torso he felt himself smile and blush. It seemed like the more time he spent with West, the more he liked her company. It was strange; the first time they met he couldn't stand her.

"Hey! Get back here you thieves!" The group gasped and spun around, finding an army of Sharkadians swimming angrily towards them with spears pointed at them.

"Stormy! Go!" Riku exclaimed, urging him forward. Stormy whinnied in understanding, taking off like lightning back in the direction they came. But still, the army of Sharkadians pursued them.

"They're catching up to us! What do we do?!" Exclaimed Mushu. Riku racked his brain for ideas. Stormy was going as fast as he could; they couldn't outswim them. They'd have to distract them somehow. Suddenly, he knew what he had to do.

"West! Take the reins!" He ordered, shoving them into her hands.

"Wait! What are you doing?!" She demanded.

Riku didn't give her an answer; he needed his full concentration for what he was about to do. Holding onto Stormy's mane with one hand, he raised the other, summoning the darkness within him. Just like at the Olympus Coliseum, a corridor of darkness opened in front of him and the heartless swam out. Though, they weren't shadows; instead emerged about twenty small sea neon heartless. They weren't very strong, but they were all Riku needed.

The sea neons blocked the path of the Sharkadians and attacked. Stormy picked up speed, creating a gab between them and their pursuers. It took the Sharkadians awhile to defeat all the heartless Riku summoned, but by then the sharks had lost sight of them.

"You okay?" West asked with concern.

"A little dizzy, but fine." Riku replied, "Looks like I'm getting stronger." He was about to take the reins back from West when she pulled them away from him.

"No way, mister! You need to rest!" She scolded.

"B-but."

"No buts! I don't want you passing out on us while you're driving!" West said. "I can drive, just take a break!"

Not in the mood to argue, Riku held his hands up in defence and tried to enjoy the ride back.

~*KH*~

With Stormy's speed, it didn't take them long to make it back to the stables. They were lucky they lost the Sharkadians. The old merman was feeding the other seahorses when they arrived. Stormy whinnied to announce their presence, alerting the attention of the stables owner. He spun around, shock and surprise written across his face.

"Well this is a surprise." The old merman said as Riku and West dismounted and Mushu swam off Riku's shoulder. "Normally if he gets out into the wilderness I have to drag him back. He must like you lot."

"Aww, he's just a big sweetheart!" West exclaimed, scratching him behind the fins. Stormy whinnied as his reins were tied to the stables. "I'm gonna miss you, big guy."

"Yeah." Nodded Riku with a small smile, petting his scales. "Thanks for all the help." Stormy bent his neck down, nuzzling up to Riku's face affectionately. At first, the islander wasn't sure how to react but then, with a small smile, he gently petted the seahorse's nose.

"Aww, looks like you've got a new friend." Laughed Mushu.

"Shut up, Mushu!" Laughed Riku, playfully pushing him off his shoulders. "Come on, we better get going."

"Yeah, okay." West replied, disappointed that they were leaving Stormy behind. "Bye, Stormy."

"I know he'll miss yeh." The stable owner said. "But thanks for takin' him out, it's been so long since he's had anyone want to ride him."

"No problem." Riku nodded, turning away as the three of them started swimming back to Ursula's grotto. With the saddlebag swung over his shoulder, Riku's thoughts wandered. He knew he was getting stronger, and that the dark power he had was growing with him. Fighting that Sharkadian and summoning those heartless hadn't taken up as much energy as it had before. But still, it concerned him that he lost control for a moment. That was something he'd have to learn how to fix.

Too soon, they arrived at the entrance of Ursula's lair. Riku took the bag off his shoulder and opened it, revealing the familiar glow of the magic shell. Finding the shell unharmed, Riku held the open bag in front of Mushu.

"Mushu, hide in here; I don't want Ursula finding you." Riku told the small dragon.

"Come on! What do I look like, a wallet?!" The dragon exclaimed.

"No, but we'll all be in trouble if Ursula sees you." West stated. Mushu grumbled in defeat, slithering inside the bag while Riku rolled his eyes, putting the bag back on his shoulder.

"Come on," Riku said as he and West swam into the entrance of Ursula's grotto. As soon as they entered, Riku felt West grab on to his arm again. He could feel her shivering slightly. Of course, those weird, creepy creatures were still down there.

As soon as they were past the entrance, West finally released Riku's arm and broke away. Her face was blushing slightly. "Sorry." She murmured, but then she felt Riku place a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Friends support each other, right?" He smiled. West nodded and smiled back up at him, happiness clearly seen in her brown eyes.

"Well well, this certainly is a surprise." Ursula's voice interrupted them. The sea witch swam beside them, wrapping her large arms around their shoulders. "I hadn't expected the two of you back so soon. I take it the mission I gave you two was a success?"

"Yeah, we got it." Riku replied, squirming out of the sea witch's arms. He opened the bag slightly so she couldn't see what was inside. Riku reached inside and grabbed the shell, trying not to disturb Mushu. He pulled it out and handed it to Ursula.

The sea witch's eyes shone with greed as she grabbed it out of Riku's hands. Ursula grinned evilly, admiring the magic shell she had in her possession. "Very well done, my dears." She laughed. "I have to say, I didn't think the two of you would get it done that quickly."

"Well, Riku did most of the work." West said, smiling sheepishly.

"Of course he did." Replied Ursula in a condescending tone. Without wasting another second, the sea witch brought the shell up to her lips and blew. Instantly, tendrils of dark magic appeared and danced around her body spinning faster and faster. Until finally, Ursula released the shell and the magic surrounding her vanished. "Oh yes!" She cackled. "My heart feels stronger! Invincible!"

Riku and West looked at each other, both slightly uncomfortable being in the presence of the power-hungry Ursula.

"I'm starting to regret that mission." West said.

"Yeah, same here." Riku agreed. "Come on, we should probably leave-" Riku was cut of by West releasing a sudden grunt of pain as she started shaking. "West? What's wrong?"

"I-I don't know! What's happening?!" She was interrupted by the same purple smoke that had transformed them appear all around her body. Riku watched her worriedly, unsure if what to do.

When the smoke finally evaporated, Riku's eyes widened in shock at the sight of West in her human form, fully clothed, swimming in front of him. Suddenly, West grabbed her throat and closed her mouth, panic in her eyes. She couldn't breathe!

"West! Ursula help her! What happened to her tail?!" Demanded Riku.

"Oh, silly me." Ursula laughed. "Did I forget to mention there's a time limit to my magic?"

Growing desperate, West kicked her legs over to the hole in the roof, where she could see the surface of the water. But, before she could reach it, Ursula grabbed her ankle with one of her tentacles, pulling her down.

"Going somewhere, little girl?" The sea witch laughed, her tentacles wrapping around West's entire body.

"Ursula!" Riku snarled. "What do you think you're doing?! Give her back her tail! SHE CAN'T BREATHE!"

"Why do you care, handsome?" Scoffed Ursula, her tail wrapping tighter around West's body, making it harder and harder to hold her breath. "You're going to die in this world, angelfish, unless you agree to tell me every little detail you know about your old friends in the resistance."

West glared dangerously at Ursula but then started violently shaking her head, kicking and struggling, trying to break free.

Ursula tightened her grip around West's small body. "No? Well then, I'll just have to wait here until you stop breathing!"

"Let her go, Ursula!" Riku snarled. Ursula turned her head, shocked to find Riku holding Soul Eater in her direction.

"What's this? Are you defying me, boy?!" She demanded angrily.

"Maybe I am. Now let her go before things get ugly!"

All Ursula did was erupt in a fit of laughter. "You really think you could defeat me?! Ha! I'd like to see you try! Flotsam! Jetsam!" The sea witch released West from her grip, only for Ursula's two eels to tightly grab her arms, preventing her from leaving. "You better defeat me quickly, handsome. She'll run out of air pretty soon. And I imagine your time with that tail's almost up too."

"Bring it on you sea trash!" Riku spat, coating Soul Eater in a thick layer of darkness before he rushed into battle.

**Urchin: How could you just end it there?!**

**PrismRain13: cuz I'm evil *evil laugh* but seriously, I really wanted to get this chapter out because I feel like I left this story long enough. Pomise I'll update sooner!**

**Urchin: remember to review so Riku can save West!**

**Lee - thanks! Unfortunately, Morgana won't be featured in this story. But she and all the other characters from Little Mermaid II will be featured in a sequel to my other story, Reconnected.**

**Anonymous - Sora doesn't get Mushu as a summon until after they beat Maleficent in Hollow Bastion. I'm sorry you feel that way about West, but if you really think she ruined the story then why are you still reading?**


	32. Part of Your World

**RismRain13: Hey guys! I'm back! Didn't take me too long this time, did it? Thanks so much for over 200 reviews!you guys are amazing!**

**Sebastian: I hope not! That cliffhanger had me on the edge of my seat!**

**PrismRain13: Well, I didn't want to leave that for too long; I just put poor West through so much. On a side note; I SAW HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2! It was amazing! It made me laugh, cry, it was just so beautifully done! *sigh* Eret and Hiccup...**

**Sebastian: PrismRain13 still claims no ownership now let's be done with Ursula already!**

**_Chapter 32: Part of Your World_**

Ursula was proving to be one of the most difficult opponents Riku had faced on his own so far. With all her tentacles, it was had to block all of her attacks. He knew he was still worn out from fighting the Sharkadian and summoning those heartless, but Riku kept fighting.

He aggressively slashed and stabbed at her, but Ursula never took much damage. Her tentacles acted like small, movable shields and weapons. And in this world, the sea witch knew she had the advantage. He fired dark magic at her; it managed to cause a few minor scrapes to her tentacles, but not enough to defeat her. And he was running out of time.

Out of the corner of his eye, Riku noticed that West's struggling against Flotsam and Jetsam was getting weaker and sloppier. She was running out of air. Knowing this, Riku fought harder, but he was still nowhere near winning.

Suddenly, Ursula grabbed one of the potions off her dresser and threw it at Riku. The bottle exploded on impact, knocking the teenager down to the ground, Soul Eater flying out of his hands. Ursula grinned in victory and started to stride towards Riku's fallen form.

West could feel herself panicking with worry for Riku. But, it was getting harder and harder to fight. She knew she was getting weaker. Finally, she couldn't fight anymore as her body went limp and she slowly closed her eyes.

"WEST!" Riku screamed, seeing her body go limp. He pushed himself up, but then he felt one of Ursula's tentacles grab his wrist.

"Well, so sorry handsome." Chuckled the sea witch. "It looks like I'm the winner here."

"Think again, fatty!" Mushu's voice exclaimed. Neither Ursula or Riku saw it coming when the sea dragon burst out of the bag and attacked the sea witch. Mushu unleashed his fire breath mercilessly, causing her to release Riku's wrist.

It was all Riku needed to grab Soul Eater again and send a devastating blow to Ursula's stomach. The impact pushed her back into the giant dark shell on the wall. Then, Riku fired two blasts of dark firaga at both Flotsam and Jetsam. It caused the two eels to release West and stumble backwards.

Without a second to waste, Riku rushed to her side. He wrapped his arms around her, pressing her limp body against his chest.

"Don't worry, West. I've got you. Just hang in there." Riku whispered.

"Come on let's hurry up and get out of here!" Mushu exclaimed, climbing on to Riku's shoulder.

"Right!" Riku moved as fast as his tail could, escaping out one of the holes in the roof of the grotto. Never letting his hold on West falter as he moved higher and higher to the surface of the water.

As Ursula recovered from the surprise attack, she found Flotsam and Jetsam swimming around her worriedly.

"They have escaped. The boy attacked us." Flotsam said, bowing his head.

"We have failed you." Jetsam said, copying his brother.

"Oh, my poor little poopsies." Cooned Ursula, scratching them both under their chins. "Not to worry, mommy will take care of you." She stopped suddenly when she heard the sound of a group swimming into her lair. Both Flotsam and Jetsam swam out of her shell.

"It is the Keyblade boy and the mermaid princess." Jetsam exclaimed

"They have come for the Trident." Flotsam concluded. At that, Ursula started seething in anger. The sea witch turned around just as Sora, Donald, Goofy, Ariel and Sebastian swam inside the grotto.

"Come out! You can't run!" Donald quacked angrily.

"Your time has come!" Sebastian added from his position on Donald's head. Ursula's anger increased as she emerged out in front of them, a look of pure rage on her face.

~*KH*~

Riku swam as fast as his tail could carry him, trying his hardest to reach the surface. He had to, they were running out of time; he barely noticed Mushu was still hanging on to his shoulder. Riku held on to West tightly as though he couldn't live without her, he just hoped with all his heart that she'd be alright. Nothing else mattered now but saving her life.

Finally, after what felt like ages, they burst through the surface of the water. There was a clear blue sky with barely any clouds and a large castle in the distance Quickly, Riku spun all around, finally finding a small beach resting near the castle, not too far from where they were. Riku started kicking with all his might, trying to keep West's head out of the water. At that moment, the same smoke engulfed Mushu as he turned back into his dragon form.

Reaching the beach, Riku found himself exhausted as he set West's body down of the warm sand. Even though he was tired, Riku kept moving, difficultly since his tail hadn't vanished yet.

"West! West?!" Mushu exclaimed, shaking her lifeless shoulder. "Get up West!"

Riku stopped moving until he was over West. He knelt down and placed his lips over hers, blowing air into her lungs. Then, he placed his hands over her chest, pressing down. He tried to remember the process of CPR everyone on the island had to learn.

"Come on, West! Breathe! Come on!" Riku shouted desperately, continuing the chest compressions and breaths on an intense level. Mushu watched worriedly, after two rounds of CPR, there was still no sign of life from West. "West! You have to wake up! West! WEST!?" Riku screamed, getting more and more desperate as tears started to pour down his cheeks.

Just then, as Riku started his chest compressions again, West suddenly released a violent gasp. Water poured out of her mouth while she coughed and finally started breathing again.

"West!" Riku smiled. "I'm... So glad." He couldn't say anything else as he dropped to the warm sand, completely exhausted. Before Riku knew it, he had fallen asleep just as the pink smoke appeared around him. His tail vanished, only to be replaced by his legs and his clothing.

Mushu let out a sigh of relief that they all were okay. It really scared him; thinking that they weren't going to make it. But then, at the sound of a corridor of darkness opening the small dragon quickly scurried into Riku's pocket before anyone noticed him. He could feel Riku's body being lifted off the sand and could hear a small groan from West as she was lifted too. Mushu could feel that they were behing carried through the corridor of darkness.

~*KH*~

_Riku knew he was dreaming, but somehow, he didn't care. He was six years old again and back on the islands. Both he and Sora had just left the secret place, disappointed to find that there really was no monster in there. After Sora's dad had picked them up from the play island, the two boys began walking down the path to the Mayor's house._

_"Hey Riku, what do you think this new girl's going to be like?" Sora asked cheerfully when they reached the front door._

_"I dunno." Replied Riku, ringing the doorbell. "But I _really_ hope she doesn't make us play dolls with her all day."_

_Just then, the door swung open revealing the face of Destiny Island's mayor. He was a rather large man with round glasses and a head of black hair and a mustache. He was dressed rather casually today; blue heads, brown shoes, a white collared shirt and a green sweater overtop._

_"Ah, Sora, Riku. Welcome, your parents told me you two were coming. Please, come in." The Mayor smiled, opening the door to his large house all the way. Both boys stepped inside. _

_Having never been inside the mayor's house before; it was a different experience for the two boys. The living space was much larger than what they were used to with high ceilings, and large chandeliers. The Mayor led Sora and Riku down a hallway filled with oil paintings and potted tropical plants before they finally stepped in the dining room._

_There, they found the Mayor's wife sitting at the table with a little girl around their age. His wife was a tall, thin woman with long blonde hair tied back in a neat bun and a tan that most residents of Destiny Islands had. But, the little girl, she didn't look like anyone from the islands at all. Her bright, auburn hair shone in the sunlight through the window and her bright blue eyes looked a little nervous at the sight of the two boys._

_"Sora, Riku." The Mayor said in a friendly tone. "This is Kairi, she's going to be staying here from now on."_

_"I'll go see if the cookies are done," The Mayor's wife smiled, standing up from her seat. "Come on, dear. Let's let the children get to know each other better." Both the adults left the room, leaving the three kids in an awkward silence._

_"So, um," Kairi stammered nervously. "They told me that you guys found me after I showed up here. Thank you."_

_"You're welcome!" Smiled Sora. "I'm Sora and this is Riku. He's my best friend!"_

_Riku rolled his eyes. He barely knew her and he was already treating her like a long-time friend? "So, where did you come from?" Riku asked._

_"I don't remember." Kairi said sadly. "All I remember is lots of black, then a bright light."_

_"What do you like to do for fun?" Sora questioned._

_Kairi nervously shifted in her seat. "Well, I like picking flowers, I guess." Both Sora and Riku groaned. "But, I like swimming too."_

_At that, Sora and Riku's heads snapped up; maybe she wasn't going to be another boring girl after all. _

_"We like swimming, too." Riku smiled._

_"Yeah!" Exclaimed Sora. "There's this play island my dad takes us to all the time."_

_Kairi giggled at Sora's enthusiasm. "What do you do there?"_

_"All kinds of stuff." Riku replied. "Swimming, exploring and racing; I always win."_

_"No you don't!" Argued Sora._

_"Yes I do!"_

_"No you don't!"_

_"Yes I do!" Riku argued back. Kairi almost fell out of her chair laughing at their arguing. After Riku and Sora had finally stopped arguing The Mayor's wife had come back with a giant plateful of chocolate chip cookies for all three of them._

_He could remember taking and laughing with them for the rest of their visit, making plans to go to the play island together. In just a few short minutes, they had become inseparable. Riku truly missed those days; the days when it was just the three of them._

Slowly, Riku started to wake from his slumber. He didn't want to wake up; he just wanted to stay in his memories for just a little while longer. But, soon that proved to be impossible.

"This is boring!" A little boy's voice sighed.

"Let's pour some spiders on him!" A little girl's voice exclaimed excitedly.

"No way! Let's do something worse!" Another little boy exclaimed.

Not liking the sound of what he was hearing, Riku forced himself out of sleep and up to a sitting position. He found himself on a ripped couch with springs sticking out in a small, round room. There were a few levers and candles on one wall near a strange mask that looked like it had a chute in it. Staring at him were three oddly-dressed children. Two boys who were dressed as a skeleton and a devil, and a girl who was dressed as a witch.

"Aww! No fair!" The girl whined. "Now you woke him up!"

"It's not my fault you guys are loud!" The boy dressed as a devil pouted.

Ignoring their arguing, Riku looked down at himself, but gasped at what he saw. His entire body was translucent, like a ghost and covered in chains. His clothes were ripped and had changed to white and grey. Finding a cracked mirror beside him, Riku jumped off the couch and peered inside to find his face pale and dark circles under his eyes.

"What the-?" Riku started when he heard the doors creek open behind him. He turned around to find Oogie Boogie stomping inside.

"Looks like you finally decided to join us, kiddo." Oogie laughed. "By the way, love the new look!"

Riku grumbled. "So this is just like Ursula's world, then?" He asked, crossing his arms. "What happened to her?"

At the mention of Ursula, Oogie looked slightly hurt but he quickly shook it off. "The key-swinging boy defeated her." He explained. "Maleficent found you and your little girlfriend sleepin' so she brought you here. Said it was time I took over babysitting duty." Riku scoffed, he really hadn't expected anything less from Maleficent. At least he didn't have to put up with her now. Just then, he realized that West was nowhere to be found in the room.

"Wait! Where's West?" Riku demanded. "Is she okay?!"

The three kids snickered mischievously behind him, as though they knew something he didn't. But when Oogie sent them a bone-chilling glare they immediately stopped.

"Relax, doll-face is doing just fine." Oogie replied. "I got her resting up in a special room."

Riku let out a sigh of relief, so he did manage to save her. It was a good feeling, to know he helped save someone's life. It looked like he didn't have to worry about him for now.

"So, where are we anyway?" Riku asked. Oogie chuckled as he walked out of the room. Riku followed closely behind until they were outside. They were standing at the top of an old, creepy-looking manor with an unstable bridge and a gate with jack-o-lanterns on it. The sky was completely black with a giant full moon as a few bats flew off into the sky.

"You're in my world now. Welcome to Halloween Town!"

**PrismRain13: and now we've moved on to the world where creepy stuff happens! Both Riku and West's Halloween Town forms are up on my deviantart page if you wanna take a look.**

**Sebastian: Yes but, where's West?**

**PrismRain13: *smirk* you'll see. So, I have a pretty good idea on what's going to happen to West in this worked but I'm blank on what Riku should do so suggestions are appreciated. I loved writing this chapter with the RikuxWest fluff and the chibi Sora, Riku and Kairi. Hope you liked it!**

**Sebastian: oh great, now I have to go back to my world and chase Ariel all day. Please don't forget to review!**


	33. This is Halloween

**PrismRain13: *yawn* hey guys, so I just got off an all-night flight and I'm heading off to Québec for a month.**

**Oogie: And, why do we care?**

**PrismRain13: because mr. Oogie Boogie, this means I have no idea what my update schedule's going to look like since I'm going to the university all day and I'm supposed to be speaking french. So, I'm not making any promises guys but I'll update as often as I can. And don't expect _The Dark Heart Rises_ to be published until sometime in August when I get back home.**

**Oogie: Prism owns nothing other than the plot ad her OCs. Now, you up for a game?**

**PrismRain13: *snores while sleeping***

**_Chapter 33: This is Halloween_**

Riku could only stare in awe at the world he saw before him. Everything looked so much darker than all the other worlds he had visited. He couldn't see anything cheerful about this world, but still it gave off the same light feeling as the other worlds. Oogie still stood beside him, his presence much less intimidating than some of Maleficent's other followers; to Riku, Oogie was kind of an idiot. The bag of bugs just didn't seem all that concerned about finding the keyhole or even pay any attention to what was going on around him. Riku's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the three kids talking behind him.

"I'm so bored. I wanna do something." The witch girl whined.

"Can we do something for you, mister Oogie?" The skeleton boy asked with admiration.

Oogie Boogie released a deep laugh, looking down at the three kids. "Well, Lock, Shock, Barrel, it just so happens I got the perfect job for you. See, Maleficent just sent the heartless loose in this world. But, I hear that no-good Jack Skellington's trying to use the heartless for their stupid Halloween show! We can't have that now can we?"

"The heartless dancing!? Yuck!" Lock exclaimed in disgust.

"Exactly what I thought!" Oogie stated. "So, I want you three little trouble makers to find out exactly how they plan to control the heartless and tell me!"

"You got it mister Oogie Boogie, sir!" Barrel saluted. Giggling in excitement, the there of them jumped off the top of Oogie's manor, landing right into a small bathtub with legs right at the entrance. The bathtub crossed the bridge, carrying Lock, Shock and Barrel into the distance.

Now, with just Riku and Oogie, it was eerily silent between them. "Why do you want to know how this Skeleton person's planning to control the heartless? Can't you just control them yourself?"

Oogie paused, eye socket widening and rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, uh, yeh see... I haven't exactly been able to take control over the heartless yet." He said sheepishly.

"Wait, you're one of Maleficent's allies and you can't control the heartless?" Laughed Riku. But, he stopped when he realized Oogie was looming over him with his arms on his hips and a raised eyebrow.

"I could control the heartless if I waned to!" Exclaimed Oogie defensively. "Those little guys are just intimidated by my Oogie flair!"

"Uh huh, sure." Riku rolled his eyes. "So, is there any point to me being here?"

Oogie Boogie shook his head, ruffling Riku's hair. "Nah, Maleficent just dumped you and doll-face here. But, if ya really wanted somethin' ta do, you could always go practice some of your dark magic. Perfect place for it if you ask me."

Riku nodded. "Fine. Know any good places for that?"

"There's the woods." Suggested Oogie. "Don't think you'll have much problems with the locals there. Oh, that reminds me, I oughta go check up on doll-face." Oogie turned around to leave before Riku stopped him.

"I'll come with you." He said. "I want to see how West's doing. I'm... Worried about her."

"Sorry, kiddo. No can do." Oogie stated as Riku raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Poor girl's still recovering; can't overwhelm her with too many visitors."

"I guess that makes sense." Shrugged Riku. "Okay, then can you tell her that I'm glad she's okay. And, that I'm sorry I couldn't stop Ursula from hurting her. I'll check up on her later."

"Don't you worry, I'll give her your little message."

"Okay, thanks. See ya." Riku said as he made his way down the manor, never looking back. A part of himself worried deeply for West, he still didn't know how well she was recovering. He just hoped that Oogie really was taking care of her.

"Glad I could help." Oogie chuckled to himself, watching Riku walk away as he strode inside his manor, where West was waiting.

It wasn't long before the woods came into view. Dark, leafless trees and a dry dirt ground. He could hear the faint sounds of owls in the distance and there was not a single person or creature in sight. Summoning Soul Eater to his hands, Riku glanced down at his pocket.

"Mushu, are you there? Are you okay?" Riku asked. There was a small hiss as a dark red rattlesnake with Mushu's face slithered out of his pocket and on to his shoulder.

"Oh yeah! Now this is more my style!" Mushu exclaimed. "Gotta tell ya, I hated being a fish! I like this world much better!"

"A rattlesnake? Really?"

"It's not like I picked it!" Mushu argued. "Besides I think it suits me; fearsome and deadly! Beware my awesomeness!"

Riku laughed, turning his attention to the space in front of him. "Yeah, sure. Okay, Mushu I need to get some practice in."

"Okay, fine. Just keep those heartless of yours away from me. The last thing I need is an attack on my heart!" Mushu stated. He slithered down Riku's body and curled up near a tree where he could watch his friend practice that was still a safe distance away.

"No promises." Riku replied with a smile, stretching his muscles.

Mushu rolled his eyes. "Hey, you sure we shouldn't have said something to West before we left? Let her know where we were going?"

"No, she needs her rest."

~*KH*~

West felt weak and tired, her lungs slightly burning. She could feel her body laying on some type of cold, metal surface and another substance holding her in place. Opening her heavy eyelids, West gasped in pure shock at where she was now.

Strapped to a vertical metal table with thin leather straps, she found herself in the middle of a circular room lined with heavy bricks. She was in the pit of the room that was decorated with a red and green floor with skulls and other drawings on it. Multiple scythes, chainsaws and other sharp devices hung at the ceiling just waiting to be used.

As West looked down at herself, she noticed her appearance had changed. Her entire body was covered in stitches, including one all the way around her neck. There was a black thief's mask around her eyes, her bandanna was ripped. Her shirt was still green, but had short, darker ripped sleeves sewn to it. Her pants were now black and ripped, her hoodie was replaced by a grey piece of fabric and there was a noose around her waist.

The thief started to grow nervous when she heard a nearby door creek open. She craned her neck to look behind her, eyes widening at the sight of Oogie Boogie walking towards her holding a pair of red dice.

"Well well, look who's up. Have a good nap, doll-face?" Laughed Oogie.

"What's going on?!" West demanded, struggling against the straps. "Where am I?!"

"You're in my Torture Chamber." Oogie continued to laugh evilly waving the dice tauntingly in front of her face. "So, doll-face. Are you a gambin' girl?"

"What are you talking about?! Where's Riku?!" West exclaimed, still struggling.

"I just thought we could have a little fun, play a little game." Smirked the bag of bugs. "As for Riku, I sent him to wander around. Took a lot to get him to leave, said he was worried about ya."

"Riku really said that?!" West gasped in surprise.

"Well, yeah." Oogie shrugged. "After all, he did save your life. Kinda wasteful if you ask me."

West hadn't heard his last statement. Riku saved her? She remembered now, she couldn't breathe, she was drowning and trying to free herself from Ursula's eels. Then, everything turned black.

But then, she head a familiar voice calling out to her in the darkness. The voice sounded scared and desperate, begging her to come back. She could feel soft lips against hers, blowing precious air into her lungs.

She opened her eyes, and Riku, still in his merman form had been standing over her. Water dripping from his hair and bare chest, his aqua eyes looking so relieved when she had started coughing.

_Riku... Thank you._ West thought as a smile came to her lips. She almost didn't notice Oogie Boogie waving a bag-covered arm in front of her face. As soon as she did, Wesr was snapped out of her memory.

"Hey! You wanna focus here?!" Oogie exclaimed, irritated that he had been ignored. "Now, here are the rules to our little game; every time you don't tell me what I wanna know, we give the dice a roll and something in this room's gonna hurt you. I wonder how long until things get painful."

West found herself nervously shaking as she watched Oogie hum to himself and set things up with the levers and blades. Once again, West felt just as trapped as she had been with Mozenrath and Ursula. But, as her fingertips touched the holder under the fabric, she realized she still had her knife. The straps holding her down were thin enough, and she could see a pair of unlocked doors nearby. She still had a chance to escape, she just needed to keep Oogie distracted.

"So... Uhh... Nice place you got here." West said nervously while she slowly reached for her knife so that Oogie wouldn't notice what she was doing.

"You really like it?" Laughed Oogie with a grin. "Just a little Oogie flair always spices a room up." Luckily, the bag of bugs still hadn't turned around. West used the precious seconds to pull her knife.

"So, Ursula and Jafar wanted to know about the heartless resistance too. What's the deal with you guys?" West asked. Sweat dripped from her forehead and coated her hands while she anxiously moved her knife across one of the straps holding her down.

"Yep. So did Hades. We all wanna know what little secrets you got from the heartless resistance."

"But, why?" she was so close to freeing herself...just a little longer...

"None of your business, doll-face-" Oogie said just as he turned around. His eyes widened at the sight of West with her knife out and one strap almost completely cut off. "H-Heyy! What do ya think you're doing?!"

He stormed up to her just as West frantically cut off the strap, freeing her upper body. Oogie was about to grab her arm when she raised her fist, punching him as hard as she could right across his face. The surprise from the impact caused Oogie to gasp out in shock and stumble backwards a little. West took advantage of Oogie's distraction and quickly cut off the strap around her legs; freeing herself. She jumped down from the table, running as fast as her legs could carry her through the door to freedom.

The bag of bugs shook his head around, tying to get rid of the dizziness he now faced. Once he was finally able to see straight, Oogie desperately looked around his torture chamber but West was nowhere to be found.

"That sneaky little brat!" Oogie roared angrily. "No one and I mean no one messes with mister Oogie Boogie! When I see that little thief again she'll wish she'd just played my game!"

At that moment, the bag of bugs heard familiar laughter coming from behind him. Oogie turned to the small chute that connected to Lock, Shock and Barrel's evil playroom just as the three trick-or-treaters jumped out.

"We're back, mister Oogie Boogie!" Lock saluted, the other two following his lead.

"We spied on Jack and the stupid doctor just like you asked." Shock said proudly.

"Yeah! We hurried back so we could watch you torture the stupid girl!" Barrel exclaimed excitedly.

Oogie grumbled in anger. "Well sorry to disappoint you kiddies, but you just missed the show." He pointed over to the table where the cut straps lay. "The brat escaped; it looks like I just need to come up with another way to get what I want outta her."

"You'll think of something!" Shock encouraged. "She'll be so scared of you!"

"You'll think of something really bad!" Lock added.

"Super-duper bad!"

Oogie gladly accepted the praise. "Yes, yes I know. I'm just the baddest guy in all of Halloween Town! But, doll-face will have to wait for now." His expression turned mischievous as he bent down to their level, excitedly rubbing his palms together. "So, my little minions. What kind of dirt did you dig up for me?"

"Jack's making a heart for the heartless so he can control then!" Lock blurted out. Oogie appeared stunned at first, but then he started laughing as he stood up to his full height.

"A heart? That bonehead Jack is really making a heart? I'll be jiggered! That works for me!" Oogie Boogie cackled deeply, plans forming in his mind "Ohh, when I get my hands on that... Well, I've got no hands, but I'm still gonna nab that heart and control the Heartless." Lock, Shock and Barrel cowered in fear before him, scared of what he was capable of in this state and what could happen to them.

**PrismRain13: *still sleeping***

**Oogie: well, uh, I guess since she's still sleeping I'll say this. Thanks for over two hundred reviews, Prism really appreciates this and hopes you liked the chapter. Ugh. Can't believe I did that.**


	34. Trick or Treat

**PrismRain13: Hi guys! There was so much writer's block I had to deal with, but it looks like the next chapter will be the last of Halloween Town.**

**Jack: thank you all for the support! It always makes us here pleased!**

**PrismRain13: I still own nothing other than the plot and my OC's. Enjoy the chapter!**

**_Chapter 34: Trick or Treat_**

After a few hours, Riku was proud to say that his practice was paying off. Summoning shadows now took only a tiny amount of his energy. Now, the variety of heartless he could summon were growing larger and more dangerous. It was soon becoming the easiest thing in the world to have the heartless obey his every command. His power really had grown in such a short amount of town.

Mushu had fallen asleep at the base of one of the trees after the first hour. He had grown extremely bored with Riku's training.

Now, Riku focused the energy of his heart in front of him. If his power really had grown, then this new heartless shouldn't take too much of his energy. He held out his hand and slowly, his own shadow started to morph and slowly rise out of the ground. His shadow kept moving until it had taken a solid shape and stood directly in front of him, glowing yellow eyes gazing at him.

"All right!" Riku smiled at the sight of his shadow clone. "Hey! Mushu! Wake up, you gotta see this! It's really cool!"

"Five more minuites..." Mushu mumbled from his sleeping form, releasing a loud snore..

Riku rolled his eyes. "Never mind, keep enjoying your nap." The young silverette raised his hand again as the heartless disappeared. Stretching out his muscles, Riku allowed his heart to relax.

But then, he heard the sound of soft rustling nearby. He knew he and Mushu weren't alone anymore.

"Who's there?" Riku demanded, Soul Eater appearing in his hands. "Show yourself!" He didn't have to wait long for a reply.

Quick as lightning, a body leaped out of the nearby bushes and attacked Riku. The young man tried his hardest to fight back, but he soon found himself pinned down to the ground by his attacker, dropping Soul Eater in the process.

Riku squirmed around in the strong grip of his captor until he finally looked up and his eyes widened as he saw who it was. She may have blended in with the other residents of Halloween Town, but he still recognized the unusual purple eyes and the black hair with a red streak.

"Kyra?" Riku asked. Like him, her appearance had changed to some sort of reaper. She was now wearing a black long-sleeved robe with ripped red sleeves and bottom with her hood up, a grey shirt, a skull eye patch, a red belt with bones on the buckle, a crescent moon necklace, black boots and dark grey pants.

As soon as she realized it was Riku she attacked, her expression changed to an irritated groan as she released him from her hold. "Oh. It's you." She groaned, standing to her feet.

"Thanks for noticing." Grumbled Riku, pushing himself and rubbing the sore arm that hit the ground too hard.

"Woah! Hey! Watch it you furball!" Mushu exclaimed from where he was previously napping. Now, a Halloween Town version of Rusty was sniffing at the dragon-turned-rattlesnake.

Rusty had turned into a fluffy black cat with a skull charm on a red collar. He was sniffing Mushu curiously and the dragon didn't like it at all.

"Woah! Hey! Haven't you ever heard of personal space?!" Mushu grumbled, trying to push the fox-cat away.

"Okay, okay, Rusty. Leave the poor... Uhh... Snake alone." Kyra said, raising an eyebrow.

"Who are you calling a snake, lady?! I'm a guardian dragon!" Mushu exclaimed while Rusty cocked his head to the side curiously. The dragon-snake rolled his eyes, slithering across the dirt and climbing up Riku's body until he was resting on his shoulder again. Away from the curious fox.

Kyra shrugged, turning to Riku. "I guess that's Halloween Town magic for you. Sorry, Riku, right? I thought you were a heartless. They're tending to jump out of nowhere in this world. I need to keep my guard up. Plus the fact that this place is dark all the time doesn't help."

"Yeah, okay." Riku grumbled. "So, what brings you here?"

"Well, I heard back at Traverse Town that West's not too keen on coming back home." Kyra explained.

Riku sighed, remembering back in Monstro when she told him about her family members verbally attacking him and her defending him. He remembered that she had been crying about one of them saying something hurtful at her. In all honesty, he could understand why she didn't want too back.

"Yeah, she told me about running into her family." Replied Riku. "That still doesn't answer why you're here."

"I thought it was obvious; I need to talk some sense into that girl!" Kyra snapped. "Now where is she?"

"Oh, she's back at the manor getting some rest after what happened-" Mushu started when, in a panic, Riku covered his mouth, cutting the dragon off.

"Mushu! Shut up!" Hissed Riku. He only really encountered Kyra once back at Traverse Town. But, he knew she was protective of the others. And he seriously doubted she'd be happy about hearing about the fact that West almost drowned. And judging by the scary look on Kyra's face, he was right.

"Okay, snowy-locks," She snarled dangerously. "What happened to West? Why does she need rest?"

The silver-haired teen glared dangerously at Mushu, the dragon-snake smiling up awkwardly at him. "Uhh... Oops?"

"I'm waiting." Glared Kyra.

"It's... A bit of a long story." Riku replied, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"I've got time." She stated, taking a seat on a nearby rock, her arms still crossed. Rusty sat down at her feet. "Alright, I want answers and I want them now."

~*KH*~

West kept running, even when she couldn't even see Oogie's manor anymore, she had to get as far away as possible. Finally, after what felt like ages, West stopped running and collapsed to her knees, completely out of breath.

The young thief greedily filled her lungs with air as she took in her surroundings, slumping against a stone wall. She was sitting in the middle of a graveyard. Lopsided gravestones decorated the ground and over the wall she could see a curly hill.

"Why does this keep happening?" West asked herself. "Why do they want to know about the heartless resistance? And why do I keep getting cornered? I mean, I knew I was never the best fighter around, but I should be able to stand up for myself. I can't keep relying on Riku forever."

Riku... Just thinking about him made her heart beat a little faster. Wait! No! She didn't think of him like that! She was just grateful to him for protecting her and she admired his strength. His eyes, those muscles and that silver hair. Ok, so maybe she thought he was kind of attractive. West felt herself blush at the thought.

"He protected me so many times." She mused, a smile creeping on to her lips. "And I can never do as much for him. I need to get stronger. It might take me awhile, but I know someday I'll be able to repay him."

"Unfortunately, that day is not today." An unfamiliar voice purred nearby. West didn't waste a second jumping up and pulling her knife out. A corridor of darkness opened beside her and a figure wearing the familiar black cloak as the same people who attacked her in Monstro stepped out.

"You," Hissed West. "You're part of that Organization, aren't you? So what are you doing here?! Hunting for Riku?!"

The Organization member only calmly removed his hood, revealing a man with thick, layered pink hair and blue eyes. "Calm down, young lady." He said. "The Organization no longer has any interest in your boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend!" West retorted. "And why should I believe you?!"

The man smirked at her. "I suppose you have a right to be suspicious. It's true our Superior has requested we stop hunting him down. However," The man raised his hand and in a burst of pink rose petals, a sharp giant pink and green giant scythe appeared in his hands. "That doesn't mean that I, Marluxia, the Graceful Assassin don't have a use for him."

"Should have seen that one coming." West grumbled. She pulled out her knife now clearly seeing this person as an enemy. "What do you even want with him?!"

"I'm afraid that's none of your concern, girl." Marluxia said in a condescending tone.

"If you're threatening my friend, then it's defiantly my concern! Now tell me why you're after him!" Retorted West.

Marluxia huffed in annoyance, lowering his scythe. "Persistent little girl. I cannot say why our leader wanted him caught. But, as for me. I intend to use his power to overthrow the Superior and take over the Organization. Now, if you'll just tell me where I can find him-"

"That's not happening!" West snarled, pointing her knife at him. "Forget it, there's no way I'm going to sell out my friend to you! I'll fight you!"

"Don't make me laugh." He raised his scythe again. "Xigbar told us about his encounter with the two of you in the whale. He said you were easy to take down."

"It doesn't matter if I'm weak! I'll still protect the people I care about!"

**PrismRain13: Thanks for reading guys! Until next time! Thanks for reading!**

**Jack: Remember to review!**

****note: Rusty's Halloween Town form has changed; now he's a black cat.**


	35. The Manipulative Witch

**PrismRain13: Hi guys! Prism here with another chappie! It looks like Riku's in serious trouble with Kyra.**

**Kyra: that no-good little punk! Who does he think he is?!**

**PrismRain13: Kyra, just calm down and breathe! And pretty please do the disclaimer?**

**Kyra: *groan* Prism owns nothing other than the plot and her OCs. Except for me and Rusty who belong to MysteryGirl7Freak.**

**_Chapter 35: The Manipulative Witch_**

Riku couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated by Kyra's glare as he explained everything that had happened to him and West so far. Needless to say, she wasn't happy hearing about the battle with Xigbar in Monstro or the games on Olympus Coliseum. Now that he was telling her about Atlantica, Riku wasn't expecting the best reaction. He had thought about lying to her about what happened. But, after Mushu spilled that West was resting, he really found no point in it.

"-So, we got the shell and handed it over to Ursula. But, she made West's tail disappear early and interrogated her about the Heartless Resistance." Riku told her.

"Are you saying that sea witch tried to drown her?!" Kyra demanded, clenching her teeth.

"Yeah, but it's okay!" Mushu said, trying to calm her down. "Riku pulled her out and gave her the kiss of life just in time!"

That did it for Kyra. The young woman jumped to her feet and roughly grabbed Riku's shirt collar, her glare even more intense than it was before. "You little punk! You kissed West?!" If looks could kill, Riku would be a smoldering pile of ashes.

"It was CPR!" Riku defended, growing nervous. "I was trying to save her life and it worked!" Rusty rushed up beside her legs, barking at her to let the islander go. Kyra released a few breaths, trying to calm down and releasing Riku's shirt.

"Okay, fine." Kyra said, running her fingers through her hair and trying to control her breathing. "And, where did you say West was, again?"

"I told you, she's resting back up at Oogie's manor." Replied Riku.

Kyra paused, slowly turning around to face him. "As in, Oogie Boogie that giant sac of bugs that's allied with Maleficent?" Riku nodded. "Are you a complete idiot?! Did you seriously think it was a good idea to leave her alone with one of the members of Maleficent's inner circle?! Ursula tried to drown West to get information out of her, what's to stop Oogie Boogie from doing something similar to her?! I knew you were trouble the second I met you." Kyra snarled, crossing her arms.

"Why are you people so against me?!" Riku interrupted, getting irritated with the way she talked down to him. "West trusts me, why can't you?!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Kyra scoffed. "It's because you're loyal to Maleficent; the one person who's responsible for ruining all our lives! West can't get close to her! And I know that witch is filling your head with lies."

"Oh yeah?! What makes you such an expert?!"

"Because I know what she does! I know how Maleficent manipulates people! And I know she won't hesitate to hurt people to get what she wants!" Snapped Kyra suddenly, almost as if she was speaking from experience. As Riku looked closer, he could have sworn he could see a small hint of sadness in her eyes.

All of the woods were silent for a moment, both Mushu and Rusty too scared to get in the way of Riku and Kyra's argument. After a few moments, Kyra released an aggravated sigh as she grabbed Riku's arm and started dragging him through the woods. Rusty and Mushu followed closely behind.

"Alright, come on, Snowy-locks. Let's go." She grumbled.

"Wait! Where are we going?!" Demanded Riku.

"I thought it was obvious; we're going to find West. Who knows how much trouble she's in now?!"

Riku remained silent as he was dragged through the woods. Mushu slithered beside him with apologetic eyes, which the ghost responded with an irritated look. Rusty appeared to be worried for West, but not as grouchy as Kyra was. While the reaper was obviously fuming with rage and worry.

The more the air around them remained silent, the more curious Riku got about Kyra. How could she have known so much about Maleficent if she was fighting for the Heartless Resistance? And why was she so protective of West more than anyone else? Finally, when they made it to the to the edge of the woods, Riku couldn't hold in his curiosity anymore; he had to know.

"Hey, uh, Kyra?" Riku asked.

"What now?" She groaned in annoyance.

"How do you know so much about Maleficent? Why are you so against her?" At the sound of his question, Kyra immediately stopped in her tracks as her grip loosened. Rusty looked up at him with a shocked expression on his face. He couldn't see Kyra's face because she had her back towards him, but he could tell he just opened a big can of worms.

"I guess if anyone should know, it should be you." She said after a few moments of hesitation, turning around to face him again. "I know because of my older brother. He was Maleficent's apprentice before you."

"Before me?! What are you talking about?! Maleficent never said anything." Riku responded, surprised at what Kyra had told him.

"You really think she'd tell you everything?" Scoffed Kyra. "My brother was only eleven when we lost our world and that witch found him. It was so easy for her to convince him to follow her. He did everything for her hoping he would find me, our parents and our little brother again. Maleficent had him wrapped around her finger.

I saw him again a few years later and he was nothing like I remembered. He was creul, ruthless, a slave to the darkness. He hurt people without giving it a second thought. I tried to tell him what he was doing was wrong, but he wouldn't listen to me! The second I disagreed with him, he labeled me a traitor to our family.

That witch turned my sweet, caring brother into a monster; I can't ever forgive her for that! And I can't let her take West from me too. She's vulnerable, I need to protect her!"

An eerie silence flooded the graveyard as Riku let Kyra's story sink in. It made sense that she would feel that way after what happened with her older brother. There may have been some similarities between her story and what was happening now. But, Riku couldn't ignore the obvious difference as he clenched his fists.

"You really are a selfish idiot, you know that?" Riku snarled while Kyra stared at him in confusion. "West wanted to come, Maleficent didn't force her or manipulate her! She told me herself she was sick of being on Traverse Town all the time! You might as well have locked her up in jail!"

"You better watch your mouth." Kyra hissed through gritted teeth, towering over him.

"No!" Riku spat without hesitation. "You have no idea what West was feeling! Did you have any idea she had no memory of her own world?! She wanted answers! She wasn't getting anywhere with you people so she took the first opportunity off that rock!"

Kyra paused, shocked by Riku's outburst. Her hands clenched into fists as she mercilessly punched a nearby tree, breathing heavily. As she lifted her head, Riku could see she was glaring. But, as the silver-haired teen looked closer, he could see a small amount of hurt in her eyes.

"Let's just go." Snarled Kyra, walking ahead of him. Rusty growled angrily at Riku before following Kyra out of the woods.

Riku stayed put as he watched her, Mushu climbing up to rest on his shoulder.

"Hey, don't you think you overdid it?" The dragon-snake asked.

"No, I don't! Get off my back, Mushu!" Snapped Riku. Mushu jumped a little in surprise; Riku had never snapped at him like that before.

"Hey, Snowly-locks, you coming or what?" Kyra called irritably, gaining the attention of the duo. Riku didn't say anything in response; instead he just walked silently past Kyra in the direction they were going before. The young woman followed him in equal silence.

Rusty looked up at his companion, a worried look on his face. "The nerve of that guy, huh, Rusty? I just don't get why West trusts him. This is just like Luke all over again." Kyra mused to herself as they followed Riku. No one in the party noticed Lock, Shock and Barrrl riding in a walking bathtub over the curly hill and a mechanical heart with them. Or the tall skeleton, the spiky-haired vampire, the duck mummy or the Frankenstein dog following them.

**PrismRain13: Thanks for reading you awesome people! Don't forget to leave behind a review!**

**Kyra: Yeah, thanks for reading. See you next time.**


	36. The Graceful Assassin

**Goofy: Hello everybody! We hope you enjoy this brand-new chapter!**

**PrismRain13: So, I've been out camping with no cell service or internet for the past few days, so if you've been waiting for me to reply to reviews or PMs and I haven't yet, that's why.**

**Goofy: Well, you're back now! PrismRain13 owns nothing other than the plot and her OCs. A-huck! **

**_Chapter 36: The Graceful Assassin_**

Clearly, West needed to learn how to pick her battles better. Marluxia was not holding back against her and she was pretty sure she had a few broken ribs and her potion supplies were running low. Luckily, she had managed to land a few deep hits, but Marluxia was quick to counterattack with undodgable, stronger blows.

The thief went in for another attack, but Marluxia was too fast this time. He swung his scythe towards her chest with a lightning-fast speed as West collapsed to her knees, releasing a gasp of pain. Marluxia smirked in victory at the defeated young girl beneath him as he placed his weapon into the dirt. But then, he raised an eyebrow as West pushed herself back up to her feet, hissing in pain and holding her knife in front of her and her breathing was strained.

"I-I'm not done yet!" She growled despite the fact her legs threatened to give out beneath her.

Marluxia gave her a smug look, picking up his weapon again. "I'm impressed you still have the strength to stand; that attack sent many Darksides to their knees." The only reply he received from her was a death glare. "I know you've lost a great deal of your strength, girl. Why do you insist on pushing yourself?"

"Because Riku's my friend! And I'm not letting you anywhere near him!"

"Don't waste your breath." Laughed the pink-haired male. "Run away, little girl. It would be such a shame to have to do away with a cute little thing like you."

"Like I said; that's not gonna happen!" West retorted angrily.

"Very well then. I suppose you're just a weed that'll have to be cut down!" Marluxia raised his scythe once more and charged at the weakened thief. West closed her eyes and braced herself for the upcoming impact. But the blow never came. Just when the scythe was about to hit her, she felt something strong and muscular wrap tightly around her body and pull her away from the pink-haired man.

"What?!" Marluxia gasped angrily when he realized his target had disappeared.

West slowly opened her eyes, gasping at the sight before her. Riku, in his ghost form was embracing her, his arms wrapped around her so tight she could barely move. Her body was pressed against his chest.

"We really need to stop meeting up like this." Riku whispered breathlessly against her ear as West felt her face heat up at how close their bodies were.

The Graceful Assassin turned his head and smirked at what he saw. "Isn't this a pleasant surprise, the prey has decided to find me on his own." Marluxia's smirk grew as a handful of petals appeared and danced around in his hand. "All because of a silly girl. The heart is such a weak little thing."

Riku turned around, eyes widening at the familiar sharp petals. "You... You attacked me at Beast's Castle when it fell to darkness!" The ghost realized with a glare. He released West from his hold, Souk Eater appearing in his hand.

"I'm so pleased you remember." Marluxia stated, swinging his scythe around just as Kyra, Mushu and Rusty rushed on to the scene.

"West!" Kyra exclaimed, running up to her and pulling her into a tight hug.

"Kyra?!" Questioned West. "What are you doing here?"

"That's not important right now! Are you hurt? Come on, take this!" Retorted the reaper, pulling out a mega-potion and shoving it into West's hands.

Riku ignored the two girls, the cat and the rattlesnake behind him, his attention focused completely on Marluxia.

"I want answers!" Riku demanded. "What the heck do you people want with me?!"

Marluxia gave a condescending chuckle. "It's quite simple, really. You, my boy are going to help me dispose of my Superior so I can take over the Organization."

"I'll pass on that."

"Now, now. I wouldn't make any rash decisions just yet. After all, I was just about to do away with your little girlfriend."

"Exactly why I'm not helping you!" Riku spat, West looking worriedly in his direction after drinking the mega-potion. "Attacking my friend is not exactly the best way to get me on your side! And after you hurt her, you'll have to drag my lifeless body!" He pointed his sword at Marluxia, a burning rage in his eyes.

West could barely move or hear Kyra talking to hear after hearing what Riku had said. He was willing to put himself on the line to protect her, not even caring that this enemy was stronger than most others they'd faced. He was so brave, meanwhile she couldn't do anything to defend herself. The thief was snapped out of her thoughts by the sight of Marluxia's smirk growing.

"That can be arranged." Marluxia stated. And without hesitation, he threw a blast of the sharp petals towards him.

Riku raised his blade in defense, prepared for the impact. But, before a single petal could touch him, he was pushed down to the ground, a familiar weight on top of him. The ghost looked up to find West kneeling on top of him protectively, a few stray petals scratching her back. Luckily, minimal damage was taken.

"Sorry, but I can't let you have all the fun!" West smiled down at him. "We're a team, right?"

Riku was at a complete loss for words at her action. She was a crazy idiot. But she was always there to help him just like he'd always helped her.

"Right, we're a team." Riku retuned the smile as they both got up to their feet, weapons ready for another fight.

"West!" Kyra exclaimed in shock. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"What does it look like? I'm helping my friend." Said West.

"Unfortunately, your efforts are wasted." Marluxia stated. "Two children won't stand any chance against me."

"Then how about three?" Kyra growled, drawing her bow and arrow.

"You're helping us?" Riku asked, slightly surprised.

Kyra glared at him. "I'm not about to let West get hurt because of you, silver-haired punk."

"Count me in too!" Mushu exclaimed, Rusty barking in agreement and growling at the nobody in front if them.

Marluxia only laughed at the group in front of him. "I have to admit, I never once had such an odd group challenge me before. This will certainly be interesting." The Graceful Assassin then raised his hand, creating barriers in front of all the possible exits of the graveyard. He raised his scythe, prepared for battle.

Riku was the first to attack. He dove into battle, swinging Soul Eater towards his opponent. But unfortunately, Marluxia was able to block every attack the silver-haired teen threw at him. West saw an opening since the Graceful Assasin was busy with Riku and rushed up behind Marluxia, ready to deliver a deep slash.

The pink-haired nobody never gave West a chance to attack. The second she raised her knife, Marluxia took the blunt edge his weapon and hit West. The thief was sent flying into Riku as the two teens tumbled into the dirt and hit a nearby gravestone.

Marluxia had no time to rest as Mushu jumped into battle and unleashed his fire breath. Rusty followed closely behind with a variety of offensive magic spells. Even though the two of them managed to hit Marluxia, their attacks didn't cause even the slightest amount of damage. Both animals were soon met with a giant wave of the deadly pink petals, draining them of their strength and energy.

Kyra fired an arrow at Marluxia, who blocked it with ease. Then, he counter attacked with another blast of petals which Kyra barely dodged. The reaper growled in anger, agressively sending a horde of arrows towards him as she sprinted towards him. Marluxia only scoffed and destroyed the arrows with ease. He then rushed up to Kyra, attacking her with multiple deadly strikes, sending her to her knees, howling in pain.

Riku and West pushed themselves back up, despite the pain they were in. The two teammates nodded towards each other and stowed away their weapons, knowing what they had to do.

"Together!" West exclaimed.

"Let's roll!" Riku added. The duo gathered their remaining strength and held each other's hands. Riku and West started dancing as dark energy surrounded the two of them. Small whips of darkness shot out in every direction, hitting Marluxia a few times. Marluxia tried to attack them, but the darkness around them provided a protective barrier. Riku started spinning West around faster and faster as the amount of darkness intensified until finally, West was too dizzy to spin around anymore. (1)

Even after an attack that strong, Marluxia still stood in front of them. He didn't even look injured. Riku and West didn't have any chance to attack again when the pink-haired man sprinted towards them with his scythe ready. Neither teen was given a chance to react before they were both violently knocked clean off their feet, sustaining a large amount of damage.

West clutched her side as she groaned in pain. Through her bangs, she could see Marluxia wandering towards the weakened Riku while he tried to push himself up.

"No...get away...from him..." West murmured, reaching out.  
>Marluxia gave her a condescending glance as he stood over Riku. "This doesn't concern you, girl." He stated. The scythe-wielding man bent down to Riku's level and grabbed a fistful of his silver hair so he was looking right at him. Riku refused to show any fear while the Organization member chuckled darkly.<p>

"Well, now I can see why our leader gave up on you. Anyone who is this pathetic and can't fend for himself is of no use to me. I obviously overestimated you." And with that, Marluxia released Riku from his hold and turned away.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Demanded Riku weakly.

Marluxia huffed in annoyance, turning around to face Riku again. "Someone as weak as you wouldn't last a minute against our superior. I need to search for someone stronger, more powerful to help me."

"I'm not weak!" Riku snapped, pounding his fist into the dirt.

"Go on and keep telling yourself that. I thought you'd be happy; now you have no reason to fear being hunted." Without another word, Marluxia disappeared through a portal of darkness, a smug look still plastered on his face.

"Hey! Get back!" Riku yelled into the wind, hissing in pain. "You can't just walk away, you coward!"

"Riku, calm down." The silver-haired teen looked beside him to find that Mushu had slithered beside him. "He's gone, it's over."

Riku released a few heavy breaths, until he felt a hand on his. On his other side, West had crawled beside him. "Hey, don't get so worked up, okay?" She smiled. "We're all still together. That's got to count for something, right?"

Riku was about to answer her when he was interrupted by a familiar, feminine voice.

"Honestly, this is the second time in a row I've had to come get the two of you. You obviously need to learn to pick your fights better." Just then, the familiar green glow and warmth of a giant cure spell swarmed the graveyard, instantly healing all their wounds.  
>West and Riku got up and turned their heads to find Maleficent standing at the graveyard entrance. Luckily, she hadn't seen Mushu yet, so the dragon-snake used the opportunity to quickly slither up Riku's leg and hide in his pocket once again. The witch didn't waste any time in moving directly in front of the two teenagers.<p>

"Riku, West, are the two of you alright? I was worried I might be too late to help you-" Maleficent was interrupted by the sound of growling. She looked up, finding Kyra and Rusty standing there with murderous glares in their eyes. Kyra had already pulled out her bow and arrow again and Rusty was crouched, ready to pounce. Riku almost forgot they were still here.

"You witch!" Snarled Kyra. "What are _you_ doing here?!"

"I'm sorry my dear, can I help you?" Maleficent asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, you can help by jumping off a cliff!"

The witch turned to Riku and West. "Is this some new friend of yours?"

"Don't you dare play dumb, Maleficent! You know exactly who I am! You know what you did to my brother!" Kyra roared, getting angrier and angrier by the second.

Riku looked up at Maleficent, confusion written across his face. "Maleficent, what's going on?"

"Riku, dear. I've never met this young lady before in my life." Maleficent stated calmly, a hand on his shoulder. "I have no idea what she's told you about me, but I can assure you that they're all lies."

Kyra looked like she was just about to explode, having that witch openly call her a liar in front of West. The thief in question looked a little confused, but didn't appear to entirely believe Maleficent. Riku on the other hand, glared at Kyra as though she were something disgusting he just peeled off the bottom of his shoe. Rusty growled at the witch, but tried to control himself from attacking her.

No one noticed Maleficent open a corridor of darkness, until it stood right beside her.

"Now, I believe it's time we got off this world and returned to the ship." The witch stated, stepping aside and motioning for the two teenagers to pass through. Riku gave Kyra one last glare before stepping into the darkness without question.

West took a small step towards the corridor, before Kyra grabbed her arm. The brunette turned her head to face Kyra.

"West," She murmured. "Come on, let's go home. Everyone's worried about you."  
>The thief glanced down at her shoes and released a sigh. "Kyra, I'm sorry but I can't. This is something I have to do; I want to be useful for once." Looking back up at Kyra, West gave a reassuring smile. "Just trust me, okay?"<p>

Kyra and Rusty could only gasp in shock and confusion. This allowed West to release her arm, give a final wave and wander into the corridor.

"West! Wait!" Kyra exclaimed, running towards the portal. But, she was too late as Maleficent closed it the second West stepped through. The witch looked smugly down at Kyra, a small chuckle escaping her lips.

"I have to admit, my dear, your persistence is admirable. Like brother, like sister I suppose." She smirked. "But, Riku is much more useful to me than Luke ever was."

Kyra and Rusty both gasped in shock before she drew her weapon and the fox crouched in a battle stance.

"So you do remember! Then what was all that innocent talk about?!" Kyra demanded, aiming her arrow at the evil fairy's heart.

"Well, I do need to keep up appearances with my apprentice." Maleficent replied. "At least, until he's embraced the darkness completely. Though, with little West in the way that task is becoming quite difficult. No matter, she will fulfil her purpose soon."

"What are you talking about?! What purpose?!"

Maleficent's smirk grew. "Why, to reveal the secrets of your precious Heartless Resistance, of course."

"West would never sell us out!" Snapped Kyra. Without any hesitation, the reaper ran straight towards the witch. But, before she had the chance to fire an arrow, Maleficent blasted Kyra with a powerful bolt of dark lightning.

Kyra howled in pain as she dropped her weapon and collapsed to the ground, her back slamming against a nearby tombstone. Rusty rushed to her side and quickly cast a cure spell. But, it wasn't enough to heal all of her injuries.

"You'll be pleased to know that West hasn't revealed any information to my allies yet. She is a stubborn one. But, rest assured, I will get her to talk one way or another." Maleficent grinned wickedly. "I'll send your brother your regards. Farewell."

"Hey! Wait!" Kyra exclaimed, jumping up to her feet and rushing towards Maleficent. But, once again, she was too late. Green flames surrounded the witch. As she disappeared, she released a high-pitched cackle.

Rusty growled at the empty air in front of him while Kyra clenched her fists in anger.

"Come on, boy." She said, walking down the path out of the graveyard. Rusty followed close behind. "We're getting off this world. We need to let the others know what's going on. And one way or another, we need to find a way to stop Maleficent and her plans! We can't let the Keyblade Master solve all our problems."

As Kyra and Rusty returned to their Gummi Ship, a certain spiky-haired vampire had arrived to the bridge of a giant, lopsided, spooky manor. Standing alongside him were Donald, Goofy and the Pumpkin King, Jack Skellington.

"I knew Oogie Boogie was behind this!" Jack stated. The four of them looked slightly intimidated by the manor, but ready for the battle that was about to take place.

**PrismRain13: for those of you who were wondering if that Luke guy from a few chapters ago is Kyra's brother. Yes he is! Didn't see that coming, did ya?**

**Goofy: Gawrsh, I didn't. Looks like Neverland is next!**

**PrismRain13: yep. Sad to say it, but I'm almost done with the Disney Worlds :( But, that also means we're reaching the climax so yay!**

**Goofy: See you folks next time!**

**(1): Fusion level 4 - _Dance of Darkness_**


	37. Second Star to the Right

**PrismRain13: hey guys! Long time no see! Sorry this took so long.**

**Wendy: Once again, college and work have been keeping Prism away, but now she's back with a new chapter.**

**PrismRain13: yep :) hope you guys like it! I still own nothing other than the plot and my OCs. And happy belated Halloween!**

**_Chapter 37: Second Star to the Right_**

Back on Captain Hook's ship, a corridor of darkness appeared in the Captain's Cabin. From it emerged Riku and West. Riku looked down at himself, relieved to find that he and West had changed back to their normal appearances.

"Finally." Riku grumbled, stretching his arms over his head. "I don't think I could take another costume change."

"Oh, come on, you loved being a merman and a ghost!" Giggled West, playfully poking his shoulder.

"Did not!" Riku retorted with a laugh, pushing her hand away.

"If the two of you are done fooling around-" Maleficent spoke, emerging from the corridor with a disapproving look on her face pointed at Riku. "-then Riku dear, you need to learn to stop being so reckless! Despite what you may think, you are not strong enough to handle yourself against opponents that are stronger than you. You and West have had far too many close calls lately! You've both had me so worried!"

West looked done at her shoes. It was her fault they'd gotten into so much trouble on these last few worlds. Every time she got attacked, Riku always had to drop everything to help her. All because she wasn't strong enough; because she was too weak to defend herself. The thief knew she had to grow stronger. She wanted to be just as strong as Riku was.

She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she nearly forgot that Maleficent and Riku were still talking beside her.

"We're fine! Me and West are both getting stronger; we can handle ourselves. So, you don't need to worry!" Riku argued.

Maleficent raised an eyebrow as a smile creeped up to her lips. "Well, we'll soon see if what you say is true." She turned her head to where Kairi lay motionless on the bench. "After all, your friend over there is counting on you."

"I know." Riku replied as he gazed sadly at his friend's still form. "I just wish we could just get her heart back as soon as possible." At that moment, Captain Hook opened the door and strode into the cabin.

"Well, lucky for you boy, I believe I've found the final princess of heart." The Captain stated with a large amount of confidence.

Riku gasped in a mixture of surprised and hope. "Are you serious?!" He exclaimed. "Where is she?!"

"Ah, just as eager as always. I'm sure you'd make a fine pirate someday, lad." Praised Hook. "Her name be Wendy. We'll be approaching me world, Neverland very soon. Ye'll find her there."

"Great, me and West will leave as soon as we land." Riku replied. Hook nodded as he exited the cabin, ready to direct his crew. The silver-haired teen wandered in Kairi's direction, kneeling down beside her lifeless form. "Don't worry, Kairi. You'll have your heart back soon. I promise."

Maleficent smiled to herself just as they felt the ship land in a large body of water. "Of course, she will. Now, run along, you two. I believe we've landed."

"Right. Let's get going, Riku." West nodded as both she and Riku exited the cabin. They could clearly see an island near where the ship had landed. Hook stepped to the side, gesturing to a small lifeboat and holding a map in his hand. The pirate handed the old map to Riku, who took it.

"Ye'll be findin' Wendy in the middle of the island at Hangman's Tree. This map will show yeh the way." Hook told them as the two teenagers climbed into the lifeboat. "Oh, and before I forget; there's a boy who lives at Hangman's tree by the name of Peter Pan. He may cause yeh a bit of trouble."

"Not a problem; it's nothing I can't handle with the heartless on my side. I'll get her." Riku stated confidently as he lowered the lifeboat into the water.

Hook watched Riku and West row farther and farther away from the ship when Maleficent stepped beside him.

"I hope you know what you're doing." The witch stated. "Everyone else already failed me in their attempts to gain any information from little West. Don't you fail me as well."

Hook scoffed, smirking up at Maleficent. "Not to worry. I'll get the lass to talk and have yeh your princess before yeh know it."

"Let us hope so, Captain." Warned Maleficent. "Now, I have some business to take care of back at Hollow Bastion. I'll be back to see if the girl is truly a princess of heart."

Captain Hook watched as the witch vanished through a corridor of darkness. Then, he turned to Smee, who had wandered up beside him.

"What do we do now, Cap'n?" The chubby man asked.

"Prepare the plank for the lass! And gather the shark bait! I'll get her to talk one way or another!" Hook ordered. Smee took off immediately to meet his captain's needs, leaving Hook alone with his own thoughts.

"Don't yeh worry about a thing, Maleficent. I'll get yer princess and information on the Heartless resistance. Then I'll finally be able to say farewell to Neverland forever with the help of the heartless." Hook chuckled to himself as he reentered his cabin.

Humming to himself, the Captain unscrewed his hook and set it down on his desk. It was time to replace it; it was starting to get a little rusted. Next to the discarded hook, was a wooden case. He reached and opened it with one hand. Inside the case were an entire collection of silver and gold hooks. Some were just like his old one, and others were made for other things like opening bottles or cutlery. However, as Hook peered into the case, he noticed that one of the slots were empty.

"Hmm. That's odd. I could have sworn all me hooks were here this morning..." The Captain mused, confusion written across his face.

~*KH*~

It wasn't long before Riku and West arrived at the small, tropical island. The second Riku's feet touched the sand, he found himself feeling a little homesick.

Neverland. This island was so similar to the play islands back home. The palm trees, the clear sand, the sparkling water; it seemed that everything about this world reminded him of home and the fun times he, Sora and Kairi used to have together.

He missed those days, when it was just the three of them. _Pull it together, Riku._ He scolded himself. _You need to stay focused. The sooner you find the last princess, the sooner you'll get Kairi back. And we'll be together again. Sora's a lost cause with his idiot friends._

"You okay?" West asked as she stepped out of the lifeboat. Riku had almost forgotten she was still with him.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine." Riku replied, heading off towards the woods and pulling out the map. "Let's just find this Wendy girl already. I've had enough running around."

"Hey! Wait up!" Exclaimed West as she ran after the silver-haired boy.

Mushu climbed out of Riku's pocket while he continued to walk and a West caught up to them. The trio wandered the island in silence, none of them having anything to say. Riku's eyes stayed focused on the map

"So, the last princess huh?" The dragon finally spoke up after a long time of silence. "Looks like this might be the last time we're together like this."

"Come on, Mushu, don't say that." Said West. "Sure this may be the last world we visit together, but that doesn't mean we won't be together anymore. We're all friends now, so we won't forget each other. I know I wouldn't forget about you guys if my life depended on it!" She giggled as she walked beside Riku.

Riku released a small sigh. If only Sora had thought the same thing, then maybe he wouldn't have left him and Kairi. As the three of them continued to walk throughout the island, silence overtook them again. Mushu had fallen asleep on Riku's shoulder, snoring after only a few minutes. And West was fiddling with a hook that looked strangely familiar... Without any warning, Riku snatched the hook out of West's hands.

"Hey! Rude!" Protested the pigtailed thief, waking up Mushu.

"What are you doing with one of Captain Hook's hooks?" Demanded Riku.

"Well... I sorta stole it." West giggled awkwardly.

"Yeah, no kidding. Okay, why did you steal it?"

"It's for my collection! I didn't get to collect anything on Atlantica or Halloween Town! Besides, he's got lots, it's not like he'll miss one!" West argued, snatching the hook back from Riku.

"Fine, whatever." Riku grumbled just as a large, old tree covered in multiple different entrances. "Never mind, we're here." Quietly, the trio slowly approached the tree where they could hear various voices from inside.

Riku gently lifted up one of the nearby makeshift entrances, granting the three of them a good view of the interior. Inside were a number of boys dressed as different animals such as a fox, a bear, a rabbit, a skunk and twin raccoons. Next to them were two boys dressed in white and pink pyjamas. One was wearing glasses and a top hat and the other held a small teddy bear. Off to the side, leaning against the wall was a red-haired boy dressed completely in green and a small ball of light beside him.

And, sitting on a bed covered in furs was the only girl in the room. She was dressed in a light blue nightgown with a matching ribbon in her brown, curled hair. She had to be their target. But, how was he supposed to grab her with all those boys surrounding her.

"Wendy! Tell us another story, please!" The boy in the pink pyjamas asked. The other boys all joined in begging her for a story.

"All right, all right. Settle down." Wendy giggled as the boys gathered around her. "Now, I know a wonderful story mother once told me-"

Riku, West and Mushu quietly watched the scene unfold below them. The boys were all so engaged into the story Wendy was telling them. The youngest boy holding the teddy bear sat comfortably on her lap while Wendy hugged him. Even the oldest boy dressed in green seemed interested in the story. And, all the boys appeared to love having each other around.

It reminded West so much of her family back on Traverse Town. None of them may be related, but they had made their own family within themselves. And, they were all part of this family, including Wendy.

"Alright, let's grab this Wendy girl and go. I've had enough waiting around." Riku stated as he summoned Soul Eater to his hands.

"Riku, wait. Maybe we should leave." West interrupted. Riku raised an eyebrow at her with a confused expression. "Look, they're a family, we can't just take Wendy way from them. There has to be another way to help Kairi without hurting other people."

"She's right, Riku." Mushu agreed. "Come on, let's go."

"No! This is the only way to save Kairi!" Snapped Riku. "Now, you're both either with me or against me!" West and Mushu gasped as once again, his eyes turned yellow.

The silver-haired teen ignored his two companions and turned his attention back to the group below him. "Now, let's get rid of the boys." Upon raising his free hand, a swarm of pirate heartless appeared at the entrance of the tree. Immediately, the boys started panicking in fear, then the boy in green jumped in front of them and pulled out a dagger from his belt.

"It's those monsters again!" He exclaimed, pushing the heartless back up through the entrance. "Wendy! Stay inside! Men, grab a weapon and let's go! Those monsters are gonna be sorry they messed with us lost boys!"

"Peter! Do be careful!" Wendy called out as all the boys left the tree. As soon as they were gone, Riku jumped down through the trapdoor. Wendy didn't even have a second to react before Riku raised Soul Eater and slammed the hilt into the back of her head.

Wendy collapsed without a word, her eyes closed in unconsciousness. Dismissing his weapon, the teenager pulled her limp body over his shoulder and climbed out of the same entrance where West and Mushu were waiting for him.

When he emerged, his eyes turned back to their normal colour. Accompanied by a small headache as he tenderly held his forehead.

"Riku?" Mushu asked upon West's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." he replied as he took West's wrist in his hand and started pulling her in the direction they came. "Come on, let's get back to the ship."

West remained silent as she let Riku drag her along. But, looking at Wendy's sleeping face, she couldn't help but feel guilty. How could she help rip a family apart? It wasn't right.

Slowly, so Riku wouldn't notice, West pulled the stollen hook out from her pocket and dropped it in the dirt. Hopefully it would be enough to tell them where Wendy would be.

**PrismRain13: Ohh... Things aren't looking too good for Riku...**

**Wendy: and, it looks like West and Mushu are disagreeing with him. This is going to put a big dent in their friendship.**

**PrismRain13: yep, looks like it. But, you'll have to wait till the next chapter to find out what happens! So, don't forget to leave a review!**

**Wendy: We'll see you next time**


	38. Straight on till Morning

**PrismRain13: *peeks out from behind Christmas Tree* hi guys! Hope you had some happy holidays! Sorry this took so long to get out but between the end of the semester, picking up more shifts at work and Christmas shopping, I really didn't have a lot of time.**

**Peter Pan: yep, Prism's a busy girl. I keep trying to convince her to stay at Neverland for a break.**

**PrismRain13: as awesome as that sounds, I don't think Tink would like it if you brought another girl to the island. *sigh* but I wanna go...**

**Peter Pan: Prism still owns nothing other than the plot and her OCs. Enjoy!**

_**Chapter 38: Straight on till Morning**_

The journey back to the ship was a quiet one. No one had said a single word to each other since the group had retreated from Hangman's tree. Riku had taken the lead, an unconscious Wendy slung over his shoulder while West and Mushu lagged a few feet behind. The small dragon rested on West's shoulder, worry coating their faces for their friend.

Riku himself remained focused ahead of him. This was it. He was so close to saving Kairi. Just one more princess and Maleficent would get his friend's heart back.

It wasn't long before they reached their lifeboat. Hook's ship could be clearly seen across the waters. Riku gently set Wendy's limp body down at the bottom of the lifeboat, then climbed in himself. West sat down as Riku grabbed the oars and they started to sail back.

Disturbed by the extended silence, West opened her mouth to speak. "So... Nice weather, huh?"

"Yeah, whatever." Grumbled Riku irritably. The three of them immediately returned to silence as the tension continued to rise.

Reaching Hook's ship, Riku didn't hesitate in hauling their hostage over his shoulder and climbing up the ladder. West followed him up as Mushu hid himself in her hoodie. When he arrived to the deck, he swung his legs over the edge, careful not to disturb Wendy. West climbed up shortly after him, stumbling slightly.

"Well, it took yeh long enough." Hook grumbled, striding up to them. However, once he saw Wendy's still body over Riku's shoulder, the pirate captain's expression shifted to a sinister grin. "But it looks like yeh finished the job. Did Peter Pan and his brats give yeah a hard time?"

Riku shook his head. "No, one look at the heartless I sent and they left her wide open." He smirked.

"Wonderful work, lad!" Praised the Captain, pulling out a small golden key from his jacket. "Now, there's another cabin down the hall; you can put our guest there until Maleficent returns." He threw the key towards Riku, who caught it with no effort.

Riku responded with a nod, pocketing the key and opening a nearby door and entering the ship's interior with West following him. Once again, neither one spoke making the walk through the ship seem longer than it really was. Mushu hadn't even come out of his hiding place to talk to them.

The Cabin door was open and located directly underneath Hook's cabin. Inside, it was a fairly simple room with a dresser and two white hammocks behaving as bunk beds. Setting Wendy down on the bed, Riku turned around to leave. But, he hadn't even taken a single step when he heard Wendy stirring.

The young girl slowly pushed herself up in the hammock, goaned and tenderly rubbed the back of her neck. The second she opened her eyes and realized she was in unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people, she gasped in fear.

"W-Where am I?!" Demanded Wendy.

"You're on Captain Hook's ship." Riku responded emotionlessly.

"What?!" She gasped. "No, you have to take me back to Peter, the lost boys and my brothers! Please, I'm the closest thing they have to a real mother! You have to release me!"

Riku responded with a dark scowl. "Yeah, sorry, that's not going to happen! So stop the begging because I'm not letting you leave! Come on, West!"

Before the pigtailed girl could say a single word, Riku grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the room. After violently slamming the door, he locked it with the key Hook gave him and stormed off back down the hall.

West stayed behind and watched him leave. She thought about calling out and talking to him about his behavior. But what could she say? West barely noticed Mushu climbing up to her shoulder. Like her, he worried about Riku.

"West?" Mushu mumbled, capturing the attention of the brunette. "Do you think he'll be okay?"

"I dunno." She admitted with a sigh. "I've never seen anything like this before. Sure, I knew people who struggled with the darkness in their hearts before, but it was never this bad. And, I don't want to loose Riku to that darkness either. I don't want to loose my friend."

Through the locked cabin door beside her, West could faintly hear the sound of Wendy crying. The sound was enough to rip West's heart apart with feelings of guilt. Taking a deep breath, the thief gently knocked on the door.

"Wendy?" She called out.

"Y-yes?" The young girl cried.

"Listen, I'm sorry about all this." West said, taking a deep breath. "I know you may not want to talk to anyone, But I know this isn't fair and I want you to know I don't agree with any of it. Don't worry; Your friend will find you."

~*KH*~

When Riku had returned up on deck, he spent his time leaned up against the side of the ship, gazing out towards the ocean. He never thought it was possible, but he was starting to feel a little homesick.

Just simply looking at the tropical island and the calm water was enough to remind him of the Destiny Islands and all the fun times he used to spend with Sora and Kairi. When he first thought about leaving the islands, he had hoped to be traveling with them. But now that Sora had betrayed them and Kairi's heart was lost, that dream was gone.

It was obvious Sora didn't care about them anymore. He cared about the duck and dog more than his old friends. And if Sora wouldn't help Kairi, then he would.

"All hands on deck! Peter Pan ahoy! Approaching off the port bow!" One of the pirates exclaimed.

Riku looked in the direction the pirate was pointing. His eyes widened at the sight of a red-haired, pointy-ear boy dressed in green literally flying across the waters straight towards the ship, covered in golden dust. He was accompanied by a small ball of light, which happened to be a fairy in a green dress. Riku instantly recognized him as one of the boys from the tree he took Wendy from. And he was the one Hook warned him about.

Peter Pan's narrowed eyes shone with determination as he pulled out a sharp dagger and land aboard the ship. The pirates and heartless formed a giant circle around the boy, all ready to attack. But Peter only glared furiously at the others around him.

"All right, you dirty pirates." The boy snarled, pulling out a small dagger from his belt. "Where's Wendy?! I know you took her!"

Summoning Soul Eater to his hands and releasing a small growl, Riku pushed his way past the circle of pirates and heartless. Pointing his weapon towards Peter, the silver-haired teen took his battle stance.

"Sorry, but this is as far as you're gonna get." Riku snarled. He wasn't about to let some flying kid steal the last key he needed to get Kairi's heart back. He was too close.

Peter didn't even seem the slightest bit intimidated by Riku's challenge, pointing his dagger at the silver-haired teen. His fairy companion flew near his head and looked just as eater to fight. "Bring it on! I will take Wendy back!"

Riku didn't hesitate in rushing straight into battle. He swung his blade straight towards Peter, causing some damage. However, Tinkerbell quickly rushed to her friend's aid and healed him with her pixie dust. Angrily, Riku moved to attack again, but the boy easily dodged the attack by flying straight up into the air. Then, he dove straight back down and attacked Riku with multiple quick strikes from his dagger.

_He's fast. The fact that he can fly and has that fairy healing him sure doesn't help._ Thought Riku, dodging another of Peter's attacks. Looks like I better step up my game.

Jumping out of the way of another attack, Riku summoned a handful of dark energy to his free hand. Then, just as Peter dove down for another attack, Riku threw the darkness straight at him. The blast hit Peter directly in the chest, dealing the finishing blow. The boy gasped in pain as he collapsed to the deck of the ship.

Overpowered with concern, Tinkerbell flew down to help Peter, but before she knew it, they were surrounded by Pirates. The small fairy glared daggers at them but before she could do anything, Peter Pan quickly hid her inside his pocket. The pirates attacked him before he had a chance to do anything. Peter struggled as he felt his hands being tied behind his back, but he was powerless against all these pirates at once.

Riku did nothing but smirk as he watched his opponent being restrained, Soul Eater disappearing from his hands.

"Well, isn't this a pleasant surprise?" Hook stated, striding up beside Riku with a triumphant grin on his face. "Welcome aboard, Peter Pan."

"Shut up you old codfish and let Wendy go!" Exclaimed Peter, struggling against the pirates that tried to stop him from flying away.

"Yeah, not going to happen." Riku retorted. "How did you even know she was here?"

Peter and Riku glared at each other for a few moments that seemed to go on forever. Finally, still glaring, the red-haired boy reached behind him. And, with some difficulty since his hands were tied, threw a golden object at Riku's feet.

"I found that outside my tree after we beat those monsters and we found Wendy gone." Said Peter. "You guys really should be more careful about leaving stuff like this behind; told me exactly where to go."

The silver-haired teen's eyes widened. He immediately recognized the object as one of Captain Hook's hooks; the one West showed she stole from him.

Angrily, Riku turned to the pirates. "Go lock him up!" He ordered the crew. "And make sure he can't escape."

Hook scowled as he and Riku watched the men drag Peter away. "So, taking over the position of Captain, I see." He grumbled while Riku started walking away. "And where are you going?"

"I need to have a little chat with my so-called partner."

**PrismRain13: uh oh, looks like things between the trio are tensing up!**

**Peter Pan: how could you let me get captured?! I could have totally taken all those pirates!**

**PrismRain13: Because you're supposed to be at the bottom of the ship wher you meet Sora! Relax, you won't be locked up for long.**

**Peter Pan: *pouty face* fine, but I better be the first one you write about for the next chapter.**

**PrismRain13: Fair enough. See you guys next time! Remember to review and vote on my poll if you want to see a Frozen-based world in Reconnected or it's sequel!**


	39. Broken Trust

**PrismRain13: hi guys! Welcome back!**

**Tinkerbell: *jingles***

**PrismRain13: that's right Tink! Really guys?! Only two reviews for the latest chapter of The Dark Heart Rises?! Really?! That hurts!**

**Tinkerbell: *jingles***

**PrismRain13: okay, I'm better now. I still own nothing! Enjoy the chapter!**

**_Chapter 39: Broken Trust_**

After talking with Wendy, West and Mushu had decided to give the poor girl some space and wander the interior of the ship for a bit. Eventually they stopped inside the cabin West once stayed in.

Mushu rested on her shoulder and looked at her with concern. She hadn't said a word since they left Wendy. And the small dragon could tell she was worried about Riku's attitude and behaviour lately; he was too.

"Hey, West." Mushu mumbled as West sat down on the hammock. "Do you think Wendy will be okay?"

West slowly nodded her head. "She will be. I'll make sure of it. I'm not going to let any real harm happen to the princesses. They don't deserve to be put trough something like this."

"And by that you mean leading rescue parties to us?!" A voice snarled. Both girl and dragon looked up to find Riku standing in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest and an angry look in his eyes.

West cocked her head to the side. "Uhh...what are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb!" Snapped Riku, causing West and Mushu to jump as he stormed into the cabin. "You dropped that gold hook you stole from the Captain right outside of Hangman's tree! You lead Peter Pan here!"

West gazed at his enraged form, speechless. She had never seen Riku act like this before and honestly, it was terrifying. Even Mushu looked scared.

After a few minuites with no one saying anything, Riku snarled, annoyed that West didn't reply.

"Why would you do that, West?!" Riku growled, standing right in front of her. "How could you betray me?!" At that, West glared up at him.

"I'm betraying you?!" West retorted, standing to her feet with newfound confidence. "You're betraying yourself, Riku! What you're doing is wrong! Can't you see you're hurting people! This isn't like the Riku I know!"

"Shut up! You don't know anything!"

Not liking where this was going at all, Mushu rushed to the top of West's head. "Hey, come on guys. There's no reason to fight. We're friends, right?"

"Stay out of this, Mushu!" Riku growled. "A friend wouldn't sabotage my chances of saving Kairi!"

"Riku, I get that you're trying to save your friend but you're going about it the wrong way!" West pleaded with him. "What would Kairi say if she could see you now?! Is this really what she would want?!"

"What I think my friend wants is none of your business! So just stay out of it!"

"Fine! I will!" Shouted West. And, without another word, West ran straight out of the cabin and into the ship's hallway with Mushu clinging onto her hair for dear life.

Riku remained silent as he stared out the door she disappeared out of. He still couldn't believe that West betrayed him. She had always been so supportive throughout this whole journey. Why would she do this?

The teenager was so lost in his own thoughts, he barely even noticed Captain Hook walking into the cabin with him.

"Young West just stormed past me." The pirate said. "Did ye two have a spat?"

"You could say that." Riku grumbled bitterly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Oh, lad I'm sorry. You know how young ladies can be at times." Hook sighed. "Tell you what, I'll have a little word with the lass. In the meantime, why don't you move that Kairi girl out of me cabin. I'd like to have me own space back if you don't mind."

Riku rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever." He said as he stormed out of the cabin and into the hallway. He didn't even see the the sinister smirk upon Hook's face as he left.

~*KH*~

It seemed like ages until West stopped running through the ship, finding herself in the middle of the Freezer. True to its name, the air inside it was ice cold with freezing mist surrounding the floor. West found herself shivering as she leaned up against a nearby wall and wrapped her arms around herself.

Mushu himself was only mildly inconvenienced by the cold, but like West, the small dragon's mind was occupied with thoughts of Riku. He just didn't seem like the person they became friends with anymore.

The dragon sighed as he claimed down West's hair and onto her shoulder again. As he looked to her face, he noticed a small tear trickling down her cheek.

"You okay?" Asked Mushu.

West shook her head and wiped away her tear. "I just can't believe Riku. It's like we don't even know him anymore."

Mushu sighed. "I know what you mean. When I first met he was just a lonely kid trying to find his friends."

"Yeah, now he's turned into someone I, as a member of the heartless resistance, would see as an enemy." She sighed.

"Still a member of the heartless resistance, eh? Looks like the theif hasn't been completely honest with us." Both West and Mushu spun around, gasping at the sight of Captain Hook standing only a few feet away from them. Mushu was so shocked, he could barely even move.

"Captain Hook!" West exclaimed in surprise. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Just long enough to hear everything yeh had to say, wench." Smirked the Pirate Captain. "So, you've been hiding a few things from us, eh girl? Like that little pet of yours yeh kept from us."

"Hey! I ain't nobody's pet yah curly-haired pansy-" Mushu stated to shout, but West covered his mouth before he could continue.

"Mushu, that's not helping." West groaned before looking back towards Hook nervously, unsure of how things would turn out now.

The Captain in turn drew his sharpened sword, pointing it directly at West and Mushu. "Enough talk! Now tell me all yeh know about the heartless resistance! Or I'll have you and yer pet lizard walk the plank!"

"For the last time! I'm a _dragon_! Why is that so hard for you people to understand?!" Exclaimed Mushu.

_What am I gonna do?! _West thought desperately. _This is my fault, I should have made sure no one was listening! No, I can't let things end like this. I won't go down without a fight! _With newfound determination, West pulled out Pickpocket from its holster and pointed it in Hook's direction. The tip of the knife almost touching the tip of the sword.

"Sorry, but I won't be betraying my friends! The resistance or Riku!" She stated, moving into her battle stance. "I'll fight you! I won't let any one else be influenced by the darkness! I'll save Riku from it, I know I will!"

Mushu gazed at her worriedly. "West, are you sure you can handle this? I mean, he doesn't look like he'll go down easy."

West flashed her companion a confident smile. "I'll be fine, I've gotten stronger throughout this whole thing. Besides, I've got a guardian dragon backing me up, right?"

The small dragon nodded and smiled. "Yeah, ya sure do."

"That's enough!" Hook snarled. "Yeh'll never make it off my ship!"

"Bring it on!" West exclaimed, rushing towards the pirate with her knife raised, ready to fight.

The Captain dodged West's attack just in time, gaining only a small scratch on his coat. He responded by attacking her with his own sword, causing quite a bit of damage. Hook raised his sword again for another blow, but before he could, Mushu jumped up from West's shoulder and unleashed his fire breath upon his opponent.

The dragon's fire burned him upon contact, dealing a large amount of damage and distracting him long enough for West to deal a number of fast knife slashes to her enemy. Just when she was about to attack her enemy again, Hook recovered from Mushu's fire breath and blocked her attack with his sword, almost knocking Pickpocket out of her hand.

But luckily, West kept a firm grip on her weapon. While Mushu stood on the floor and fired an array of fireballs towards the captain, West moved to deliver the finishing blow. The force from her knife knocked Hook clean off his feet and causing him to drop his sword.

However, West and Mushu hardly had any time to celebrate their victory. The moment Hook was defeated, the entire freezer became filled with green smoke. Neither girl or dragon noticed it.

"How...do ya like that?... Now...you're gonna..." West mumbled with a slur before both she and Mushu collapsed to the ice-cold floor, completely unconscious.

As Hook pushed himself up to his knees, he saw a burst of green flames appear behind West and Mushu. And from those flames emerged Maleficent. The witch looked down condescendingly at Hook as the flames and smoke both vanished.

"You disappoint me, Captain. To think you were defeated by a little girl and her pet." Maleficent huffed. "You are lucky that I chose to intervene and cast a sleep spell. Honestly, I expected so much more of you."

Hook gulped. "T-the lass caught me off guard, Maleficent-"

"Silence!" Roared Maleficent. For a few moments, the entire ship was silent as the witch debated something in her mind. After what felt like an eternity, Maleficent spoke again. "I will give you one final chance to redeem yourself. The Keyblade wielder and the King's fools are headed this way as we speak. I want you and Riku to use the heartless, capture them on your ship, take the Keyblade and dispose of them."

The Pirate Captain sighed in relief, standing up to his feet. "Yes, at once Maleficent! I will not fail you this time!"

"I should think not." Maleficent huffed, scooping up the sleeping West and Mushu into her arms. "Now, I must be off. It seems that no one was able to extract information from young West here. Oh well, I suppose if you want something done, you have to do it yourself."

And without another word, the witch vanished in a burst of her signature green flames taking the sleeping West and Mushu with her. Her destination; back to Hollow Bastion.

~*KH*~

Meanwhile, a handful of pirates were dragging the bound and struggling Peter Pan through the halls of the ship. They didn't stop until they reached the brig, violently tossing the red-haired boy inside and locking the door.

"Ugh." Peter groaned from the floor as Tinkerbell flew out if his pocket. "I hate pirates."

The fairy nodded her head in agreement and with some difficulty, pulled out Peter's dagger from its holster. Carefully, Tinkerbell used the dagger to cut the rope binding her friend's hands together.

"Thanks, Tink." Peter said as her rubbed his sore wrists and put his dagger back into its rightful place. The boy didn't waste a second flying up to the door and giving it a hard tug.

"No good." Grumbled Peter, kicking the door in anger. "Those stupid pirates are gonna pay for this." It was then he noticed a small, barred window on the door. Big enough for a fairy to fit through.

"Tink!" Peter exclaimed, catching his fairy companion's attention. "You're the only one of us who can make it outta here! I need you to go and look for Wendy!"

The fairy in response angrily shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Come on, Tink! We gotta help Wendy!"

Tinkerbell shook her head again, turning her back towards Peter.

"Please, Tink! Wendy's our friend! Do this for me!" Begged Peter. At that, Tinkerbell released a sigh and nodded her head, flying out of the brig without a second thought.

"Thanks, Tink." Peter Pan smiled. "Good luck. I'll try to find a way out from here."

~*KH*~

Back up on the deck, Riku stood looking up at the sky with the dormant Kairi leaned up beside him. It seemed like only yesterday he, Sora and Kairi were sitting on the paopu tree, looking out at the ocean and talking about seeing other worlds together.

Riku sighed sadly. "Why do people keep betraying me, Kairi? First Sora and now West and Mushu. I thought that they were my friends... I just don't know what to think anymore."

"I thank ye for finally giving me back me cabin, lad." Riku looked down to see Hook and Smee occupying the lower deck. "I take it she's not looking any better?" Hook asked.

Riku shook his head.

"Pity. If yeh ask me, it's a waste of time." Said Hook, walking up the steps to the wheel.

Riku snarled in annoyance as he looked up to the sky. There, he could clearly make out Sora's ship approaching them.

"That's-" Gasped Riku.

"Aye, it is yer friends ship. Now, hold on tight. We'll be picking up some passengers." The next thing he knew, the Captain took a sharp turn, straight towards the much smaller ship.

Riku watched as they grew closer and closer to Sora's ship, finally allowing it to come crashing down upon the deck. For some reason, neither vessel suffered any damage. The silver-haired teen didn't hesitate in climbing down the stairs, rushing up to the Gummi ship and ripping open the door.

What tumbled out were three unconscious, but still breathing bodies; Sora, Donald and Goofy. Riku snarled at the sight of them, grabbing the limp Donald and Goofy by their shirt collars.

Then, a trapdoor opened up beside him. Riku looked up at the Captain, finding that he had pulled a nearby leaver to open it. Taking the hint, the teenager threw both Donald and Goofy inside.

"Well, what are ye waiting for, lad?" Hook questioned, pointing his Hook at Sora. "Throw 'im in too."

Riku nodded and reached out his hand to grab Sora's jacket, but paused when he saw the spiky haired boy groan and begin to stir.

"In a minute." Replied Riku. "I wanna have a chat with Sora first."

Hook released an annoyed groan, but closed the trapdoor anyway. Riku walked back up the stairs to where Kairi was as Sora started to wake up. The silver-haired teen watched as his old friend pushed himself up to his feet and started walking along the deck, looking around the ship.

It was at that moment that Riku decided it was time to make himself noticed. "I didn't think you'd come, Sora." He said. Sora gasped at the sight of his friend. "Good to see you again." Riku continued.

"Where are Donald and Goofy?" Sora demanded.

Riku snarled. So, he was still valuing them over him? "Are they that important to you? More important than old friends? Instead of worrying about them, you should be asking...about her." The silver-haired teen stepped to the side, revealing Kairi to him. She still looked as weak as ever

"Kairi!" Exclaimed Sora.

"That's right. While you were off goofing around, I finally found her."

Sora made a move to get to Kairi, but before he could, Captain Hook stepped in front of him, blocking the boy's way with his hook.

"Not so fast. No shenanigans aboard my vessel, boy." The Captain smirked. Soon enough, Sora became surrounded by Hook, Mr. Smee, and a few pirate-like Heartless, forcing him to stand on top of the invisible trapdoor.

Sora knew he was trapped. "Riku, why are you siding with the Heartless?!" He exclaimed.

"The Heartless obey me now, Sora. Now I have nothing to fear." Riku stated.

"You're stupid! Sooner or later they'll swallow your heart!"

"Not a chance. My heart's too strong."

"Riku..." Sora mumbled.

"I've picked up a few other tricks as well. Like this, for instance." Riku raised his hand and using the trick he learned back in Halloween Town, a shadow version of Sora appeared in front of him. "You can go see your friends now." Riku said, pulling the lever and letting Sora fall down it, a scream escaping his throat as he closed it.

Riku turned his attention back to Hook and his crew. "Let's get under way, already. And keep Sora away from Kairi until we're ready to land." With that order in place, he picked up Kairi bridal-style and entered the ship.

After a few minutes, he reached the cabin he had placed Wendy in. Pulling out the key and unlocking the door, he found Wendy sitting on one of the hammocks, barely acknowledging that Riku had ever come in.

"Congratulations, Wendy. Looks like you get a roommate." Riku said, gently setting Kairi's limp form against a nearby wall.

"Well, isn't this touching?" A voice echoed through the cabin. Riku turned around to find Maleficent standing in the doorway. Wendy froze in fear at the sight of her. "So, this is the final princess of heart?" The witch said as she creeped closer and closer to Wendy.

The young girl shivered in fear. "Please, just let me go, my brothers-"

"Are no longer your concern." Maleficent interrupted, then turned to Riku. "By the way, Riku. I ran into West on my way up here. She looked quite distressed, is there something wrong?"

Riku scoffed in annoyance, crossing his arms. "She led Peter Pan here." Wendy gasped at the mention of Peter, but didn't dare say a word.

"Ah, I see." Smirked the witch. "Well, I took her back to Hollow Bastion to calm down. Hopefully, that will give her some time to calm down."

No one said a word while Maleficent leaned in towards Wendy, examining her. When the witch finally pulled away, she started walking towards the door. "Riku, a word please."

Rolling his eyes, Riku followed her out into the hall. After locking the door, he turned to the witch.

"What is it?" He grumbled.

"Well, it pains me to tell you this, but Wendy is not a princess of heart."

**PrismRain13: Thanks for reading! Can we maybe have more than two reviews this time, guys?**

**Tinkerbell: *jingles***

**PrismRain13: Okay, okay I'm better now :) see you guys next time!**


End file.
